EDITOR NOTE: The January Hat Trick Letter reports will be different. Due to
the tremendous flow of geopolitical
events, rapid development of
alternative trade systems,
creative global rejection of
the toxic USD/USTBond tandem,
the breakdown of sovereign
nation financial structures,
the smog of economic statistics,
and general worldwide upheaval,
a new format will be attempted
and evaluated. It will provide
more depth in reporting, more
flexibility in the two major
topics of monetary war and
gold market, while offering
the editor some flexibility. The
January HTLetter documents
will be presented as a Global
Money War Report in two parts,
the Global Edition focusing
on geopolitical forces and
rejection of the Petro-Dollar,
the Banker Edition focusing
on the US central bank, bonds,
and currency. In February,
a similar presentation will
be done. The Gold & Currency
Report will come in two parts,
like one report focusing on
trade zone development, energy
pipelines, and mining sector,
the second focusing on currency
and gold markets. Consider
the format an editorial experiment,
which will provide solid analysis
and broad information, but
in alternating months, in essence
four different reports every
pair of months.

NEW YEAR GIFT:

Some photographs to blow your mind, as the source boasts. The photos are from
a wide variety of life and
places on earth. You will not
be disappointed from the minor
lift and departure from the
workaday world. See the Gallery
(CLICK HERE).
Also, being a scientist type,
the Jackass highly recommends
a very well done sequence of
solar system and universe photos.
They help to remind that we
on earth are occupying a teeny
tiny part of the world, even
a very small part of our solar
system. Although our sun is
powerful, it is not large among
the many stars, even dwarfed
by some like Betelgeuse in
Orion which has a radius of
820 million kilometers. Our
home, the solar system, is
also very small in relative
size of the universe. Be sure
to catch the astonishing display.
A seemingly microscopic quadrant
in the sky is exposed by the
Hubble Telescope to reveal
with great magnification a
vast array of galaxies from
the miniature window. See the
Solar System Gallery (CLICK HERE).
On the Hubble photos, which
are themselves generally spectacular,
see the Gallery (CLICK HERE)
for numerous nebulas and fantastic
shots. So do you really believe
there are no bacteria, no insects,
no fish, no primates, no mammals
out there? The Jackass says
yes.

QUOTES ON MONEY

"Naturally
the common people do not
want war, neither in Russia nor
in England nor in America,
nor for that matter in Germany.
That is understood, but the
people can always be brought
to the bidding of their leaders.
That is easy. All you have
to do is tell them they are
being attacked and denounce
the pacifists for lack of
patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works
the same in any country." ~ Hermann Goehring (during the Nuremberg
Trials, whose formula works
well in the present day USA led
by the Neo-Nazis)

"Germany's
transfer payments to the
other European Union countries
exceed EUR 200 billion per
annum, depriving Germany from investing into
badly needed infrastructure
and much more. What the
West fears most is that Germany is
going to ally with Russia and China to
fill the vacuum left by the
collapsing Anglo-American
(French) axis. People
better start to face the
hard cold facts of the real
world and stop dreaming about
reviving deadbeat countries
that cannot and will not
organize and reform themselves
properly. The future lies
in the East with Russia, China,
the Commonwealth
of Independent States (slavic non-Moslem Soviet Republics), and Africa.
The latter with some serious
inhibitions. Latin
America is in a very unique
situation in this coming
revised global realignment.
The event driven scenario
will be triggered by the
banking meltdown and consequential
political turmoil that must
be anticipated." ~ The Voice

"Your
life is the sum of a remainder
of an unbalanced equation
inherent to the programming
of the matrix. You are the
eventuality of an anomaly
which despite my sincerest
efforts, we have been unable
to eliminate from what is
otherwise a harmony of mathematical
precision. While it remains
a burden assiduously avoided,
it is not unexpected, and
thus not beyond a measure
of control. The matrix is
older than you know. It is
preferred to count from the
emergence of one integral
anomaly to the emergence
of the next, in which case
this is the sixth version." ~ Architect (from The Matrix, which
seems to explain the choreographed
banker-led world)

"It
is easier to fool people
than to convince them that
they have been fooled." ~ Mark Twain

"Luck
is a concept invented by
the weak to explain their
failures. Hope is a crutch
for the unprepared to rely
upon during financial assault.
Delusion is the tool used
by the people to enable the
feeling of liberty. Liberty
seems always to be viewed
outside the context of sound
money or debt carried as
burden. Astute forecasts
are mocked before the events,
ignored during the events,
and called obvious afterwards." ~ anonymous collage

"The
American population might
awaken when the fascist hammer
hits them closest to home,
in the combination punches
with bank account haircuts
and pension fund seizures
(confiscations), followed
by abolishment of their ability
to grow food and to generate
electricity. Going poor is
the new adopted priority.
Going off the grid will be
judged tantamount to terrorist
activity. Protection against
unsound money with Gold purchase
already is." ~ Jackass

"The
USFed is not scaling back,
just talking about it to
deceive the idiots and to
fool the sheep. The new liquidity
have come from various hidden
sources such as USTreasury
Bond purchases in Brussels
by the Euro Central Bank,
in the Caribbean centers
using the Wall Street and
British slush funds, and
from the Reverse REPO window,
along with Interest Rate
Swap derivatives to produce
the wondrous artificial USTBond
demand. The QE volume is
already much greater than
advertised. It will double,
not taper." ~ Jackass

"About 94% of taxes paid on stock price
gains held between 1997 and
2012 were not actually paid
on real income, but rather
on inflation. For every $1
of taxes on real or after-inflation
income, the government was
collecting $17 in taxes on
phantom income, which had
been created by the rate
of inflation. It is difficult
to overstate the importance
of inflation to the government
when it comes to both the
level and the reliability
of investment tax collections. With
no inflation in the mix,
it all comes down to the
economy and the luck of the
markets. In any given year,
falling markets could generate
increased tax deductions
that could cripple government
revenues. Even a moderate
annual rate of inflation,
whether included in official
government inflation estimates
or not, is enough to skew
investment tax returns strongly
in the government's favor.
Of course the higher the
rate of inflation, the more
powerful the financial advantages
to the government of this
long-standing tax, which
as the US government knows quite
well from eight decades of
experience." ~ Daniel Amerman

## INTRO MONETARY FRAGMENTS

◄$$$ GONZALO LIRA HAS A NEW BOOK COMING OUT. IT IS ABOUT THE FUTURE AMERICAN
POLICE STATE WITH PERSONAL
ACCOUNTS AND SOME EFFECTIVE
CREATIVE THINKING. $$$

Colleague and friend Gonzalo Lira has published novels with St Martins, Penguin,
and Random House. He is finishing
up a new novel, entitled "A
Secret History of the American
Crash" which will
be published on February 28th.
Here is an excerpt from his
personal website (CLICK HERE),
whose short form he calls "The
View from The LA Wall."

The excerpt is about a market crash and a gold surge, packed with some other
fun stuff as he describes.
In the full novel, Lira explores
a simple concept. What would
happen if there was a market
crash that drove China and
the rest of America's
creditors to sell off Treasury
Bonds, while refusing to accept
dollars for their goods? The
consequences would be horrific,
and in The Secret History,
the author explores the economic,
political, social, and cultural
effects of a catastrophic depression
by having witnesses describe
their personal account of events.
The book is written from the
futuristic viewpoint in the
year 2020, looking back on
policies, events, and counter-actions
that took place between 2014
and 2020. In the future year
2020, not far in the future, America is a kleptocratic
plutocracy that evolves from
the present path. It degrades
into a nation ruled by rich
people who use their position
to steal even more money, even
as the military is deployed
to control the population.
Every county has a sector commander,
and every street has a camera.
Every computer is monitored,
and legislation has been passed
obligating ordinary citizens
to register their fingerprints
and DNA, so as to be in compliance
with the new order. America blossoms into a fascist
police state, but the dull
people have barely noticed.
They become much more poor,
more miserable, and more hopeless
than ever in American history.
By way of a mosaic of testimonies,
the novel attempts to demonstrate
how the tragic state of affairs
would come to pass.

◄$$$ TOP TEN SOLUTIONS FOR WORKING TOWARD A SOLUTION FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FOR ITS RESTORATION
AS A CRADLE OF CAPITALISM AND
A BEACON OF FREEDOM. OBVIOUSLY
IT IS TOO LATE, BUT FROM AN
IDEALIST POINT OF VIEW, MANY
SOLUTIONS DO EXIST AND COULD
HAVE BEEN PURSUED FOLLOWING
THE 2000 MARKET BUST. THEY
ALSO COULD HAVE BEEN PURSUED
FOLLOWING THE 2008 MARKET BUST.
EACH BUST LEADS TO DEEPER COMMITMENT
TO A CORRUPTED AND DYSFUNCTIONAL
SYSTEM, NOT A PURSUIT OF SOLUTIONS.
THE HIDDEN OFFICIAL OBJECTIVE
IS TO PRESERVE POLITICAL AND
MONETARY POWER, NOT TO REINSTATE
CONDITIONS FOR A VIABLE OR
EQUITABLE FUTURE. $$$

Permit the Jackass a diversion into the ideal realm. It will pass. Many identifiable
solutions can be cited if the
people are determined to work
toward a solution for the United States of America,
for its return to health and
strength, for its restoration
as a cradle of capitalism and
a beacon of freedom, both surely
vanished. Obviously it is too
late, but from an idealist
point of view, many solutions
do exist and could have been
pursued following the 2000
market bust and tech telecom
chapter. They also could have
been pursued following the
2008 market bust and Lehman
chapter. They could have been
pursued following the Black
Money 1987 event, which was
the original quintessential
signal of dire conditions.
The 1987 event in the Jackass
view was a seminal signal in
response to a decade of moving US industry offshore to the Pacific
Rim. The event was a financial
tremor in response. Each breakdown
has resulted in deeper commitment
in the wrong direction, deeper
devotion to the financial sector,
deeper involvement in criminal
behavior and official protection.
Each breakdown resulted in
an even greater dependence
upon asset bubbles for wealth
creation, instead of work.
Each bust leads to deep corruption,
not a pursuit of solutions.
The imbalances grow worse by
the year, since solution is
not pursued.

The climax in a sequence of errors was the Most Favored Nation status granted
to China,
which led to the departure
of a significant core of US industry, along with its legitimate core income.
The dependence grew acutely
in the last 2000 decade, where
the great asset bubble was
the housing market and mortgage
finance twin bubble. The current
greatest asset bubble is the
USTreasury Bonds complex, the
final chapter before financial
ruin and systemic breakdown. The
hidden official objective is
to preserve power, not to reinstate
conditions for a viable or
equitable future. The overarching
official objective is to retain
the control of the monetary
press, to assure self-dealing
of wealth. Evidence is seen
in the QE to Infinity for monetized
bond purchase (heretic to the
core), and the Zero Interest
Rate Policy Forever (heretic
to the core). Both monetary
policies are blessed as necessary,
prudent, even urgent today,
in a grotesque display of disastrous
leadership which presides over
catastrophe. The bitter fruit
of the Fascist Business Model
is being witnessed today. It
began twelve years ago with
a Fascist Manifesto, officially
called the Patriot Act, all
well planned. Let this list
serve as Popular Manifesto
that addresses the broken parts,
the criminal elements, and
the deep rot, with cries for
effective process, equitable
function, and justice.

Consider the following solutions. The first directive has been regularly recited
by the Jackass as demonstrated
proof that the political and
banking leadership are not
pursuing a solution at all,
and never have been. The
big bank liquidation is avoided
at a start. They instead have
promoted the Too Big to Fail
mantra, which has morphed into
the Too Big to Manage mantra,
and later into the Too Big
to Jail jabber. The objective
in the policy making circles
has been since 2007 to preserve
the power structure and to
retain the privilege to print
wealth to their own camp in
the banking sector, and to
their masters in castles. The
objective has not been to pursue
solutions, to order reform,
to restore equitability, or
to work toward reconstruction.
The result has been degradation
and continued collapse, while
every major financial market
is controlled, and the entire
housing market is charred wreckage.

Consider the list and chew over their themes, while reviewing the many policy
directives in the last ten
years that have remained in
a dedicated and committed manner
off the trajectory toward solution,
while maintaining the primary
unspoken official objective
of retained power. The policy
answers of free money, ample
controls, lost rights, and
fresh socialist programs are
the bitter fruit of failure,
the assured results of the
Fascist Business Model that
economists nowhere mention. A
failed state lies before us.
A USGovt debt default lies
before us. Passage to the De-Industrialized
Third World lies as the quintessential
risk. See the public article
entitled "Popular Manifesto:
Demand for Solutions" on
the GoldSeek website journal
(CLICK HERE).

1)Liquidate the big broken insolvent
banks, since they are crime
centers, then follow through
with RICO asset seizures.

3)End foreign wars, then give full
debate to the War Powers Act
in returning the power to the
Congress, and instead engage
in peace talks and trade pacts.

4)Eliminate all former Wall Street
bankers from participating
in any federal financial regulatory
body.

5)Eliminate all financial contributions
to Congressional members, and
all private contributions to
legislation.

6)Force a breakup of all conglomerate
corporations in the news media
organizations, including television,
newspaper, magazine, radio.

7)Limit the advertisement and financial
support for financial media
by the banking sector and managed
fund centers, due to conflict
of interest.

8)Conduct full audits with powerful
prosecution on Pentagon procurements
and appropriations for the
last 30 years, including the
$2.2 trillion USArmy Accounting
report that was made public
the day before 911.

9)Return the majority of off-shore
manufacturing to the US, by means of tax credits and regulatory waivers,
even industrial parks, with
further credits on worker training
programs, in order to restore
idle plants.

11)Force total complete full disclosure
of the extensive financial
derivatives that support the
vaporous financial foundation,
including foreign financial
subsidiaries, which extend
to LIBOR, FOREX, and Gold markets.

12)Halt all further home foreclosures,
rescind all foreclosures in
process, conduct full national
investigations into the mortgage
bond fraud, the mortgage bond
fraud by Fannie Mae et al,
the mortgage contract fraud
by Wall Street banks, the MERS
title database fraud, and work
toward restitution programs.

13)Force total complete full disclosure
of the USDept Treasury's Exchange
Stabilization Fund, and all
its tentacles, including to
foreign financial markets.

14)End taxation on ex-patriots who leave
the United States after a three-year period, following
a submission of a financial
statement, using a suggestion
box.

15)Install tougher math and science
requirements for graduation
from US high schools, and provide
subsidies for poor high school
districts.

16)Shut down the COMEX for contract
fraud, which has extended to
a stack of naked shorts in
precious metals, evergreen
gold contracts, and lately
refusal to deliver on PM contracts,
even forced cash settlement.

17)Enforce the Freedom of Information
Act, and shut down the Utah
NSA center, then grant protection
to all whistle blowers at the
corporate and national level,
followed by elimination of
all coordinated projects with
Intel, Microsoft, Google, FaceBook,
and other processor designers
and social media firms.

18)Rescind the Patriot Act and restore
the Constitution with Bill
of Rights, while conducting
an investigation of all Supreme
Court justices for bribery,
coercion, and conflict of interest.

19)Remove illegal aliens from the United States after a 90-day period, unless they
qualify for a newly designed
fast track citizenship program
for integration.

20)Return to the Gold standard for a
new Global Dollar, and encourage
barter systems that reduce
the payment streams, while
directing other nations to
construct regional currencies
backed by their own ample resources,
then tying them to the Global
Dollar flagship in a tributary
development system.

◄$$$ PRICE INFLATION IS RISING AGAIN IN THE USECONOMY. THE TRUE CPI CHECKS
IN AT AROUND FIVE TIMES GREATER
THAN REPORTED, LIKE 9.1% BY
SHADOW GOVT STAT. FOOD PRICES
ARE RISING QUICKLY. RETAIL
SALES ARE SLIDING BACKWARDS
STILL, AS DISCOUNTS ARE OFFERED
TO MOVE INVENTORY. LIQUIDATION
HAS COLLIDED WITH PRICE INFLATION.
$$$

The Jackass hypothesis is that price inflation will pick up as the USEconomy
continues to suffer the chronic
recession. Expect the slowdown
to intensify in year 2014,
the effect of both QE damage
to business profits and the
sledge hammer of ObamaCare
on business costs. The Shadow
Govt Statistics crew led by
John Williams reports a 9.1%
CPI in the reality realm for
the latest month, versus 1.5%
in the hedonic and skewed USGovt
series. The SGS version
of the CPI has moved above
a steady rate around 7.5% to
8.5% for a few years, which
is worse than some emerging
market nations. The price inflation
report is from an aerial view
admittedly. The 0.1% retail
sales decline in Wal-Mart for
December is cold water in the
face. Lastly, a friend does
an annual December holiday
time food basket price check.
The results are alarming. The
same list of items are purchased
during a visit of his mother
in Arizona.
The progression in price surprised
even the Jackass. The food
basket cost $90 in 2011, then
$130 in 2012, and now $190
in 2013. That is on the order
of 40% per year. The US food
price rise might rival Egypt.

All these official USGovt economic stats result in the GDP growth rates lifted
by price inflation from false
reporting. The economic growth
rate is inflation adjusted
using 2%, when the true CPI
is at least 6% on conservative
calculations and more like
9% when carefully calculated.
So factor in a 4% to 5% upward
bias, where price inflation
is improperly deemed economic
growth, a major Jackass point
made for several years. The
USEconomy is in a 4% recession
every year. The USGovt stat
rats actually use an even more
subdued PCE adjustment from
their more heavily doctored
gimmicked Personal Consumption
Expenditures index, a travesty
on its face. The PCE clocks
in at a 1.6% snail pace. Geometric
means help to keep the index
down, instead of a basic arithmetic
mean. The big surge in December
was seen in rents, which has
been moving up for two years.
Most Christmas retail sales
were at steep discounts, just
to move inventory and to keep
people in the stores. Thus
the earnings shortfall by the
retailers. Expect the January
retail data to slide badly
even more, as inventory must
be moved. Gotta retain that
market share.

◄$$$ THE OLDER AMERICANS AND FIVE STATES DOMINATE
IN EARLY SIGNUPS FOR THE OBAMACARE
TRAVESTY CALLED NATIONAL HEALTH
INSURANCE. IT IS BETTER DESCRIBED
AS HOSPICE AND HERD TRACKING.
$$$

The older crowd is signing up for the national health insurance, according
to USGovt figures. They typically
cost much more to insure. To
date, enrollments are lower
for the healthy younger Americans
urgently required to prevent
premiums from rising. Young
adults from 18 to 34 years
of age comprise only 24% of
total enrollment, as demographics
were released. The figures
cover the 2.2 million Americans
who had signed up for government
subsidized private insurance
through the end of December.
The HealthCare.gov website
is finally functioning, after
a flurry of wasted money to
cronies. Independent experts
claim a ratio closer to 40%
for younger members is required
to keep premiums down. Adults
with ages 55 to 64 years were
the most heavily represented
in the signups, accounting
for 33% of the total. This
class is in the waiting room
for Medicare, the coverage
for which starts at age 65.

Some questions remained unanswered. Still unknown is the ratio of enrollees
who had been previously uninsured.
Some might have been among
the more than 4.7 million insured
people whose previous policies
were canceled because they
failed to meet the new tough
USGovt standards. Richard Foster
is a former statistics chief
for the USDept Health & Human
Services. He said, "The
uninsured folks for whom the
law was intended do not seem
to have signed up in nearly
as high numbers. There is still
a huge unknown aspect to this." But
the tilt to older folks is
not expected to cause instability
in the system by nitwit analysts.
Premiums would go up next year
as part of the overhaul, along
with taxpayer costs per enrollee.
The balancing act is soon to
come. As premiums rise, the
risk is for a death spiral
in citizen costs that discourages
healthy people from signing
up. It was expected that older
sicker citizens to be more
heavily represented in the
early numbers, which occurred.
They have stronger motivation
to persevere in the face of
website dysfunction. So far
the enrollment is a disappointment,
since adults aged 18 to 34
represent 40% of the target
group for the health care law.
Open enrollment ends March
31st. More young people will
sign up, under penalty for
not doing so. The hammer involves
a tax penalty in 2015 for being
uninsured.

A fuller picture has started to emerge on demographics. The official goal of
3.3 million signups fell short
by year end. On gender, 54%
were women, a slightly higher
proportion of females than
in the general population.
Nearly 80% who signed up received
financial help with their premiums.
The most popular coverage option
was a so-called silver plan,
which covers about 70% of expected
medical costs. About 60% of
people picked the silver plan.
About 20% picked a lower cost
bronze plan. Only 13% selected
the gold plan, which most closely
resembles the typical employer
plan. Another 7% went for top
tier platinum plans. Lastly,
about 1% picked the meager
catastrophic plans available
only to certain groups of people,
including those under 30 years
of age. Five states accounted
for a huge share of the enrollment. California alone had a whopping 23% of the signups. California, New York, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina
accounted for nearly half the
total. See the AOL article
(CLICK HERE).

◄$$$ IRAN AND RUSSIA ARE NEGOTIATING A VERY BIG OIL-FOR-GOODS
DEAL, VALUED AT $1.5 BILLION
PER MONTH. THE TWO NATIONS
HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF SUCH
BARTER DEALS DATING BACK TO
THE 1970 DECADE. BUT THE NEW
DEAL IS LIKELY TO BE BROADER
LIKE TO INCLUDE SERVICES, DEEPER
LIKE IN MUCH GREATER VOLUME,
AND EVENTUALLY SETTLED IN GOLD.
THE BARTER PRINCIPLE WILL BE
THE FOUNDATION OF NEW TRADE
SYSTEMS. THE DEAL PRESENTS
A MODEL FOR BARTER OUTSIDE
THE USDOLLAR SPHERE, WHICH
DEEPLY TROUBLES THE USGOVT.
THE EVOLVING MODEL WOULD USE
NEITHER USDOLLARS IN TRADE
SETTLEMENT, NOR USTREASURY
BONDS IN BANK SYSTEM RESERVES.
$$$

Iran and Russia are negotiating a
trade pact what would cover
substantial oil for finished
goods in trade. The pact could
lift Iran oil
exports substantially, in defiance
of the Western sanctions. Three
Russian and Iranian sources
close to the negotiations said
final details were in discussion
for a barter deal that would
see Moscow buy up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in exchange
for Russian equipment and other
goods. The ironic part
is that Russia does
not really need the crude oil,
but it strives to help Iran shake the King Dollar's throne and end the
USTBond strangle of the banking
world. Iran will become a key partner to the BRICS alliance. Russia plans
clearly to use Iran to
push further the barter system
in the East, joined fully with China. The revolution in
global finance will come from
trade, led by Russia & China. The banks and currency marts have become
toxic sewers.

Iran and Russia are negotiating an
oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5
billion per month in trade.
The final details are being
hammered out. The deal is being
worked on independently from
the Geneva Nuclear Talks, which
in the Jackass view are better
described as Petro-Dollar Surrender
Treaty negotiations. The King
Dollar will not abdicate the
throne easily or peacefully.
To be sure, the economic pressure
would be eased on Iran,
a nation stressed to the limit.
The nuclear summit meeting
might alter the power balance
from Iran being
supported in the bilateral
trade pact. The USGovt views
the Russian gambit as a very
negative signal. Gary Samore
is former nuclear non-proliferation
czar for President Barack Obama,
and president of pro-sanctions
group United Against Nuclear
Iran. He said, "It
could very well be they just
want to have this ready to
go the day after a nuclear
deal is completed, and they
would then be prepared to execute
a barter arrangement." If
so, then the nuclear deal will
be greased to final agreement
more easily. The usual babble
came from the USCongress about
reckless actions taken by Russia,
and their commitment toward
obstructing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. What utter propaganda
nonsense, since Iran's crime is financial in selling oil & gas
in large volume outside the
USDollar sphere. Thus they
are branded terrorists. Compared
to the US and UK superpowers,
their terror activities are
very mild and isolated.

A strange dynamic is at work. Russia is one of the countries
involved in the nuclear talks,
the Security Council five
nations plus Germany.
However, unlike the United
States and
the European Union, the Kremlin
has not imposed sanctions
on Iran. More technical nuclear talks resumed
between Iran and the European Union on January 9th. The
November formal agreement
was designed to halt Iran's nuclear advances for
six months so as to buy time
for a final settlement. The
Western (US-led) sanctions
have cut Iran's
oil exports by more than
half over the past 18 months
to about one million barrels
per day. The Russian bilateral
trade deal would raise Iran's oil exports by 50%
and provide a significant
boost to its struggling economy. Iran would earn an additional
$1.5 billion per month in
credit (good as cash).

Russia seeks to guarantee a large amount of trade with its
neighbor, and Iran seeks to overcome its
export obstacles. No details
were available about the equipment
and goods to come from Russia.
Here is the major twist. Russia does
not need crude oil supply,
since the #1 world producer.
Crude oil is very fungible,
meaning inter-changeable, except
for certain sulfur and other
impurities. The Iranian oil
would likely be exported directed
from Iran on Russia's
account, possibly to third
party nations like in Western
Europe who have no restrictions
in receiving Russia oil.
Perhaps the Iranian oil on
Russian account might be redirectd
to Japan, South Korea, India,
and Turkey, all of which cut
imports sharply under USGovt
pressure in the last year. South Africa, a member of the BRICS group, eliminated Iran oil
imports altogether. Most Iranian
oil goes to Asia. Iran's
biggest oil export nation is China,
which imported about 420,000
bpd in 2013. Unlike other Iranian
oil clientele, China has not cut purchases much, despite the
urging by the United
States. China paid
the US lip service. See the Reuters
article (CLICK HERE).

Stacey Herbert from the Max Keiser offices pitched in a comment on the trade
pact. She wrote, "If
true, this story will cause
a mighty stir of outrage in Washington DC and on the US airwaves. Notice that,
no matter where you look, from
Bitcoin to Turkey's gold for oil deals, new means of exchange
and trade (sometimes a return
to old means) are in danger
of supplanting our current
USDollar reserve based system.
Also note that restrictions
often lead to the exact opposite
of intention, since the
bully in the equation forces
the entity facing restrictions
to innovate where before they
could have been lazy instead." Major
disruptions are coming from
the East, in a colossal backfire
working toward the development
of Gold Trade Settlement with
intermediary. The Russian trade
deal is the latest of many
significant events, more to
come.

EuroRaj also pitched in a comment, since from his native corner. He wrote, "This
is really nothing new, but
it is big news for those
in the Western world. India and Russia have been doing barter trade for centuries.
In the 1970s and 1980s, India would
export tea and leather goods,
while Russia would export electronics and defense equipment.
Watch a complex ring develop,
where the crude oil from Iran will be on
the same table as Russian,
Indian, Turkish, and possibly
South African production
as a grand barter system
emerges." The USCongress
is deeply worried over these
trade talks, as deeper barter
trade is being introduced
outside the USD sphere. It
is evolving rapidly. The
senators might talk openly
about nuclear issues, but
behind closed doors and during
high level strategic sessions,
they discuss the global USDollar
rejection and prepare for
its inevitable progression. A
severe shock and demotion
comes to the United
States,
its economy, and way of life.
Gone will be the free credit,
and in comes the Third World
conditions to match its Third
World inflation and Third
World corruption in leadership.
See the Reuters article (CLICK HERE).

## NEW YEAR 2014

◄$$$ THE VOICE OFFERED A PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEW YEAR FROM THE CURRENCY
AND GOLD AND ECONOMIC FRONTS.
IT COVERS SEVERAL AREAS, BUT
NOT IN DEPTH. HIS VANTAGE POINT
IS FROM THE PERSIAN GULF AND EAST
AFRICA. HE EXPECTS THE GOLD
PRICE PREMIUM TO RISE MARKEDLY
ON THE PHYSICAL PURCHASES.
HE EXPECTS AS THE USDOLLAR
BREAKS DOWN, THAT NUMEROUS
NATIONS PEGGED TO IT WILL SUFFER
COLLAPSE OF THEIR FINANCIAL
SYSTEM. HE FORESEES SOVEREIGN
BOND FAILURES. THE USFED HAS
CAUSED FOOD PRICE INFLATION
ON A GLOBAL SCALE. THE DOMINOS
OF REGIME FAILURE WILL CONTINUE
BEYOND EGYPT FROM
THE FOOD PRICE EFFECT. $$$

The following are thoughts from The Voice, with my minor edits. The Dubai
physical gold market is totally
cleaned out. There is not a
single kilogram bar to be found
anywhere. Extreme shortages
are in every major gold market. The
price for physical gold is
going through the roof not
before long. The current
premiums in Asia
now go into the hundreds of
USDollars. It is only a question
of time before the premiums
for physical gold go over $1000
per ounce, as demand continues
and shortage deepens. Once
the US$
collapses, so will the financial
system of many nations like
in East Africa. The UAE has the same problem, even worse, since their
Dirham is pegged 100% to the US$. Nations with USD usage or direct pegs must
make a contigency battle plan.
(See Hong
Kong, Panama, Ecuador.) The entire Petro-Dollar
regime is on the brink of collapsing.
The response by various nations
is inadequate, as a result
of shallow comprehension of
risk and of the intransigent
problems. Instead of being
forced by the US, IMF, and World Bank to
conform to financial slavery,
African countries could easily
introduce commodity backed
money and issue an according
currency. But they are either
intimidated or lacking in confidence.
For instance, Kenya with its 40 million population has an annual
GDP of approx $36 billion.
It could and should be multiples
higher. Compare to the mismanaged,
socialist, and bankrupt city
state of Bremen Germany where
560,000 people generate an
annual GDP of US$54.5 billion
(=EUR40 billion). Its GDP/population
ratio is 100 times greater
than in Kenya.

The new year will usher in extreme disruptions finally. Hyper-inflation
is just around the corner
in the United States, Europe, and
almost every African country.
The proximal cause is clear.
The US Federal Reserve is throwing
over $80 billion of printed
money into the financial
system each month to keep
the insolvent banks afloat. The
impact has already triggered
food price inflation in all
emerging and Third
World countries. The food
prices were the biggest factor
in toppling the Morsi regime
in Egypt.
The dominos from food prices
will continue to fall, the
direct effect being something
that Americans remain blissfully
ignorant of. US monetary policy is causing
global problems that force
a reaction very quickly.

◄$$$ GERALD CELENTE HAS MADE PREDICTIONS ON THE RISK OF WAR, AND THE
CLIMAX OF FINANCIAL CRISIS
IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2014.
CELENTE EXPECTS THE GOLD PRICE
TO SHARPLY RISE. $$$

Gerald Celente, publisher of The Trends Journal, predicts, "Absent
the war card, I think we
will see a financial crisis
before the end of the second
quarter of 2014." Celente
sums up what he sees in 2014
as a year of extremes. To
be sure, the system is running
out of time for being held
together. The breakdown has
numerous points of failure.
Celente has always had a
keen eye on the future. See
the USA Watchdog interview
(CLICK HERE).

◄$$$ KING WORLD NEWS HAS SEVERAL INTERVIEWS FROM SHARP AWARE FOLKS ON
THE DIRE UNFOLDING OF EVENTS
IN 2014. IT WILL BE A YEAR
OF SYSTEMIC BREAKDOWN AND SPREADING
DISORDER, EMERGING FROM THE
FINANCIAL SECTOR. THE RISKS
OF BOND MARKET LOST CONTROL,
RISING PRICE INFLATION, AND
GOLD MARKET EXPLOSIONS ARE
VERY HIGH. $$$

David Stockman believes the breakdown finally occurs
on open stage this year.
He sees the USFed market
interventions as no different
from the big bank LIBOR manipulations,
all being major fraud. The USFed is engaged and stuck doing
massive monetary central
planning, in his words. They
are errantly attempting to
lift the entire economy from
a wealth effect, a severely
misguided effort. There are
no free markets, honest interest
rates, or true price discovery
anywhere anymore. Waves of
distortions, series of asset
bubbles, and sick symptoms
will continue to prevail.
They set targets with pretended
omniscience. The danger is
that none of these markets
is stable, none properly
reflecting true supply and
demand. None of them properly
discounts important factors
like cash flows, economic
future, and changing cost
structures. Stockman concluded, "The
markets today jump to the
tune of the minutes of the
Fed's FOMC meetings, of daily
word clouds that are emitted
by various Fed speakers. This
really is not a capitalist
financial market. It is entirely
a Hothouse system driven
by a rogue central bank that
has totally usurped the role
of capital and money markets. This
(2014) is the year of the
end game. The party is over.
We are now just at the point
where they are rounding up
the Wall Street drunks who
are swilling on the fifth
consecutive seasonally maladjusted
phony recovery. That will
become evident in the weeks
and months ahead. Then I
think the markets are going
to have a pretty rude day
of awakening." See
the King World News interview
(CLICK HERE).

Market veteran Ron Rosen of the Precious Metal Timing
Letter believes that 2014
will bring a frightening
display of breakdown and
tumult in financial markets.
He openly states the Western
bankers are busy destroying
the entire system. Over 80 years of age, he has seen
many grand cycles. He expects
2014 will be the year of
the upside explosion in gold
and silver, and also the
year the US stock market begins an
historic plunge. It will
possibly lose two-thirds
of its value. Conversely,
he believes Gold has bottomed
out and will explode to the
upside in price. He sees
the top put in for the Dow
Jones and S&P stock indexes,
and the lows put in for the
Gold price. The century gold
chart shows a cool french
curve of support at the current
1250 area. Rosen relies upon
Mother Nature to run the
show, and she will hand the
crooks and manipulators their
heads. He anticipates that
governments will be defeated,
their bankers slaughtered,
as the markets returned to
proper fair values, undoing
the years of interventions.
He firmly believes the gold
price could not and will
not go below the $1180 mark.
Cleverly, he calls the QE
central bank monetary policy
Quick Eradication. Think
eradication of business profit
margins, small business,
and the middle class, even
the quality of life. The
central bankers are terrified
that QE is not working, their
work having led to a systemic
failure. The US is being wrecked, and its middle class destroyed
by the ruin of money itself. Rosen
openly states that money
(the monetary system) is
being destroyed before our
eyes. The bankers and
central planners have guaranteed
a dark future for the next
generation, while depleting
the important middle class.
See the King World News interview
(CLICK HERE).

John Embry believes the year 2014 is going to bring
utter turmoil and chaos.
He foresees deeper deterioration
of the geopolitical situation,
with special focus on Japan. Their economy, currency, and bond
markets are a mess in his
words, but teetering on failure
is more accurate. He smells
a growing conflict between Japan (the US ally)
and China (the
upstart superpower). He misses
the USGovt role in stirring
up the conflict with a direct Langley
role. He sees serious trouble
in Thailand, Turkey,
and the entire Middle East. The MidEast situation could explode
at any time. He pointed to
civil war in South Sudan
and terrorist events in Russia before
the Olympic Games. The global
instability around the world
presages war, due to profound
economic distress. Embry
cites slams to the Gold & Silver
prices against positive news
in background. It is irritating
to watch and observe. The
hollowing out of physical
gold supplies in the West
should lead to an end soon.
The West is continuing to
send enormous quantities
of gold to the East. When
it ends, the price impact
on both gold and silver is
going to be spectacular on
the upside, implying that China will complete its gold purchases. On the
economic side, he believes
that if the economies ever
do improve, price inflation
will go through the roof.
But if they do not improve,
they are just going to print
more and more money and price
inflation will go through
the roof anyway. In summary,
2014 is going to be a very
challenging year in his view.
See the King World News interview
(CLICK HERE).

John Embry sees the year 2014 as bringing an epic collapse
and final battle. The propaganda written against gold has become silly
and stupid. The commentary
is as relentless as it is
vapid. The dependence by
central planners involves
all sorts of derivatives
and algorithm programs to
support the stock and bond
markets. On the other side,
they are plundering Gold & Silver
to produce the greatest mispricing
of assets witnessed in human
history. The inevitable correction
will be violent. He believes
a true high gold price would
expose their charade in interest
rates, and break the Ponzi
scheme of epic proportions.
The risk of bond default
in all bond markets is acute,
along with inflation risks.
Interest rates do not properly
reflect the monetary risk
from debt default or currency
debasement. When the inevitable
rise in rates occurs, the
banking system will literally
collapse, loaded down by
derivatives. The final battle
will be epic, already well
along. The paper gold
manipulators will lean on
the gold price until the
last ounce of gold is gone.
The gold supply in the West
is at extremely critically
low levels. The entire game
is about to change violently. He
ended by a remark about China.
The emerging Asian superpower
will have a rocky road during
the transition from an economy
driven by capital spending
and exports, into a consumer
driven country. The process
will not happen without a
period of dislocation in
the entire Chinese Economy.
See the King World News interview
(CLICK HERE).

James Turk expects a terrifying tsunami to rip through
the global markets in 2014.
He anticipates a jump in
the USTreasury 10-year yield
over 3.0% finally. Any USFed tapering of bond monetization purchases would lead to a bond yield
much higher to attract any
demand. Risk requires higher
bond yields. The USEconomy
is at great risk for higher
interest rates following
a decade of market interventions. The
USEconomy is carrying more
debt now than it did immediately
before the 2008 financial
collapse. Higher rates would
kill economic activity. Back
in the early 1980s, the debt
load was minuscule compared
to the mountain of debt which
exists today, and hardly
anyone had even heard of
derivatives back then. The
obscure derivatives hang
over the global banking system
like a deadly sword. A rise
in rates like in the 1980
decade would kill the nation.

The debt level is rising an order of magnitude faster than even the doctored
growth rates in the GDP. The
USFed stopped the yield on
the 10-year USTreasury from
rising above 3% in September,
but they will probably not
succeed in halting a locomotive
building up a head of steam.
The long-term trend that had
been leading to lower yields
changed back in May. Investors
are selling long-term paper,
along with foreigners who are
actively dumping USTBonds. Rising
interest rates could well be
the most important factor impacting
domestic as well global markets
in 2014, in Turk's opinion. He
believes it would force the
derivative machinery to be
geared down significantly,
or turned off. The major question
is whether the machinery is
broken. Turk seems unaware
of the connection between rates
and derivatives here and now,
where they are relied upon
to keep rates down. The Jackass
view is that even a moderate
interest rate rise would trigger
a powerful series of financial
explosions, not turn them off.

James Turk concluded, "No fiat currency today does what money is supposed
to do, which is to serve
as a neutral tool in commerce.
Instead, national currencies
are being tinkered with and
inevitably weakened by central
planners following misguided
policies that do nothing
but disrupt the market process
and economic activity. Money
is truly in a bubble that
has ballooned for decades.
Whether the money bubble
pops in 2014 or at a later
date cannot be predicted.
But central banks and governments
have not changed the laws
of economics. They have not
changed the underlying fundamentals
of money. Today's misguided
perceptions have created
the money bubble. So, will
2014 be the year that gold
finally clears $2000? I think
so. Despite its setback
in 2013, holding gold has
been a winning strategy for
13 years, and it will remain
a winning strategy until
central planners in government
once again understand JPMorgan's
wise insight into money." See
the King World News interview
(CLICK HERE),
and also a previous interview
(CLICK HERE).

## SAUDI NEXUS, SAUDI TREMBLING

◄$$$ REGARD ARAB SPRING AS SMOKESCREEN TO RAID CENTRAL BANK GOLD FROM
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAN
NATIONS. GENERALLY FOR THREE
DECADES, A USGOVT STRATEGY
HAS BEEN TO DESTABILIZE NATIONS
IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN GLOBAL
CONTROL IN THREE SENSES, MILITARY,
ECONOMIC, BANKING. IT IS DIFFICULT
TO MISS THE CENTRAL BANK THEFTS
OF GOLD BULLION BY THE USGOVT
WORKING AGENTS. LOOK FOR A
NEWLY FORMING MOTIVE TO STEAL
SAUDI GOLD AS VENGEANCE AND
TO UNDERMINE THE EMERGIN PETRO-YUAN
STANDARD. THE SAUDIS WILL GRADUALLY
TAKE ON THE ENEMY ROLE. $$$

Permit the Jackass to share a perspective from a good source, who has strong
USMilitary and US Security
agency connections. Be sure
to know that the Jackass interpretation
is that the gold bullion thefts
are a secondary motive, not
primary. Almost always the
motive to spread instability
is to better control, to install
puppets, and to weaken. Let's
call this source Cato from Costa Rica. He has been in steady communication
with some sources regarding
MENA activity, as they commonly
call the North Africa & Middle
East region. The Obama Admin
project of fomenting the Arab
Spring is a grand project with
apparent very disastrous results.
Nobody holds the Admin responsible
to anything though, which indicates
hidden motives with some measure
of success. Begin with a reminder
that a principal theft pattern
has been established for Nazis
in the 1930 and 1940 decades,
to steal central bank gold.
Numerous are the precedents
in Eastern
Europe. The Arab Spring destabilization
is being managed by the Bush
wing of the Langley
crew. The true hidden purpose
is to loot pilfer and steal
all the central bank gold bars
from central banks in the entire
MENA region. They want it all,
Cato said boisterously. They
have looted successfully the
gold from Libya, Tunisia,
and Syria.
They failed badly in Egypt,
as a major setback occurred
when the US puppet was removed by the Saudis, amazingly.
The removal of Syrian gold
was news to the Jackass. The
pilferage is done under the
cover of bombing raids, popular
uprisings, and other methods
to cause chaos confusion and
cloud cover. They attempt to
hit all the major banks and
especially the central banks
from each nation. He said their
next target is the Lebanon central
bank.

The climax will be to steal the gold from Persian Gulf
nation central banks, the major
oil producers. Refer to Saudi
Arabia,
UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain,
and Kuwait. Cato
specifically said Saudi Arabian
Royals gold is the grand prize
enchalada as target. He
mentioned with alarm that the
many Saudi Royals have begun
a evacuation, removing their
families out of Riyadh and other big cities, perhaps temporarily. They anticipate
some severe challenges to overthrow
the regime in the next 90 days.
He warned to expect more Arab
Spring disruptions at the grassroot
popular level to extend to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. Cato described the M.O. as basic, to
cause popular uprisings, to
demand reforms, to accuse the
monarchs of abuse of the people
and permitted poverty. Then
the bank raids occur, with
key prize in each nation being
the central bank gold. He emphasized, "The
Shrubs want all the gold from
the entire MENA region." The
Shrubs are nickname of the
Bush Gang.

One might imagine the Bush wing commanders are using the Putin vengeance to
their advantage. Putin is actively
working to even the score with
the Saudi Royals after the
Bandar threats regading the
Sochi Olympics and their loosely
connected Chechen agents for
violence. Their agents are
taking responsible for the Volgograd train station attack. The unspoken angle to the Chechens
is competition with the USGovt
for the Eastern European heroin
market. The US captured
Kosovo and placed it as the
key distribution point for
Afghan heroin heading to European
NATO bases. They had to beat
back the Chechens in the 1990
decade in order to win the
former Yugoslavian state as
a narco depot station.

The Voice does not give too much credibility to the gold theft motive. He has
long believed the greater goal
has been to install puppets,
to control the energy supply,
and to lead the Arab monarchs
to defend the Petro-Dollar
while pillage of the national
wealth is permitted. The entire
gold theme sounds credible
until one is reminded that
the Saudis are the linchpin
to the Petro-Dollar. The Voice
expects that the Saudis will
preserve their power. However,
the Jackass has two concerns
when juxtaposing the information
from Cato versus The Voice.
First, the Saudis might make
many correct strategic moves
by building ties with China, by making military protection pacts, by
making trade agreements and
continued large economic projects
like the giant petro-chemical
plant on the Red
Sea. But the Saudis are persistently
vulnerable to the individual
tactical maneuvers as part
of Langley
destablization projects at
the popular levels. They are
particularly vulnerable from
the West on the Yemen border.
Recall that Yemen to the east
on the Arabian Peninsula, and
Djibouti & Somalia on the
west in East Africa, together
lie at the mouth of the Gulf
of Aden which leads to the
strategic Red Sea and Suez
Canal.

The second factor is extremely important, and serves as a grand consequence
from the death of the Petro-Dollar
itself, which has stood for
40 years. Its demise will cause
tremendous changes, even a
global paradigm shift. If the
Saudis turn against the Americans,
if they openly embrace the
Petro-Yuan defacto standard,
if they adopt many financial
petro alliance to the Yuan
currency with linkage to Russian
crude oil pricing methods,
then all bets are off. The
USGovt and Saudis will be at
extreme odds. At that point,
the motive to steal Saudi gold
will be tremendous in a grand
act of retaliation and vengeance,
with a clear motive to undermine
the nascent Petro-Yuan standard
that deposes the longstanding
Petro-Dollar. Imagine the
scope of a Shrub project to
grab the Saudi gold. Much of
the Saudi gold is out of the
country, like in London, Switzerland, and possibly Hong
Kong. The West is being drained
of its gold from London and Swiss sources. The Jackass openly wonders how much of
this vast gold migration from
the West to the East is possibly
owned by the Queen of England or
defrauded gold funds, but also
by the Saudis. The Chinese
might be acquiring a tremendous
amount of Saudi gold from London
and Zurich,
the story for which will be
told at a later date, in aftermath.
Pure conjecture. The Saudi
gold might be targeted, as
part of overturned tables in
the Petro-Dollar framework.

Let it be known that in the past, Cato and Voice have coincided on many stories,
the confirmation coming from
different offices and corners
entirely. My favorite story
was in September 2010. The
Jackass bumped into Cato in
a mall. He startled me, an
imposing figure, although a
gentle man whose past is filled
with intrigue. Cato knows people
who manage the Bush-Clinton
$trillions from naro funds.
No details to be shared. At
the mall, he asked me to verify
an unusual event that happened
during the previous overnight
settlement. Papa Bush rescued
the Boyz favorite narco money
laundering US-based bank, the
Bank of America. The narco
baron gave $13 billion to BOA
to prevent a bank failure.
So in the next hour, the Jackass
sent a tease query to The Voice.
In the message, "Could
you please verify that a multi-$billion
narco fund rescue took place
last night? It involved a Wall
Street bank and a major drug
figure." Usually
back in 2010, he would be quite
readily available. We as a
group would test theories,
exchange views, evaluate forecasts,
and discuss breakdown events.
Within an hour, The Voice replied "Yes,
Bank of America was rescued by a
$13 billion infusion by Papa
Bush. It was a near miss for
a bank failure." The
data matched perfectly. Cato
in the past has been very informative
on the deadly nature of the
Swine Flu vaccine, on the nature
of other killer vaccines with
designed targets, on the gigantic
Homeland Security contracts
for urban armored vehicles,
on exotic security agent weapons
(like drone insects), on chemtrail
details (including photos inside
the planes), and elements of
the Keenan case before the
USGovt.

◄$$$ WESTERN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES HAVE PROMULGATED THE STORY THAT THE
SAUDI REGIME WILL COLLAPSE
THIS YEAR. THE GAME HAS BECOME
MURKY, AS IRAN HAS GROWN IN STATURE SUDDENLY. THEY SPREAD
SOME DISINFORMATION, JUST LIKE
THE AMERICANS AND BRITISH.
LOOK FOR THE SAUDIS TO LINK
UP WITH ASIA
ON AN INCREASING STRATEGIC
BASIS. THEY MUST ENSURE THEIR
STABILITY. THEY MUST FORTIFY
THEIR NATIONAL PLUNDER RIGHTS.
HOWEVER, THE PROBLEMS WITH
THE SAUDI REGIME ARE AS MUCH
INTERNAL AS EXTERNAL, AND NO
AMERICAN OR CHINESE LINKAGE
CAN OFFSET THE DEMANDS FOR
ISLAMIC REFORM AND OTHER ECONOMIC
REFORM. THE ROYAL APPROPRIATIONS
(FORCED ASSET SALES) HAVE ALSO
CAUSED GREAT DAMAGE WITHIN
THE NATION IN THE BUSINESS
SECTOR. $$$

The US and British intelligence agencies recount that in top secret reports,
their assessments show the
Saudi monarchy will likely
be toppled by massive popular
protests and armed insurgency
in 2014. The internal demands
for reform from Islamic strictures
in daily life are reaching
a boiling point. The political
prisoner count is between 20,000
and 40,000, the exact number
vague since many charges are
phony when the violation is
mere challenge of the Islamic
regime. The economic reform
demands have been growing in
intensity, as poverty spreads,
as energy costs rise, and as
food prices rise. The unspoken
ugly ongoing turning screw
within the nation is the royal
appropriation of key assets
and properties, going on for
a full generation. They
intimidate owners into sale
at 10% to 30% of true value,
under pressure of phony tax
charges and other trumped up
charges. The resentment has
been growing against royal
abuses for two decades on this
issue. The so-called Economic
Hitman Perkins revealed this
ugly practice in his exciting
salacious book back in the
1990 decade. See the English
Farsi News article (CLICK HERE).
If the source was the Snowden
NSA files, the story would
be more credible. However,
the Iran source
has some merit, even though
exaggerated. Tehran strives to become the new regional leader, as the Petro-Dollar
fades into the Western sunset,
the Saudis are converted into
the new menace, and the Petro-Yuan
is born from the East.

The Voice has direct contacts in the Persian Gulf, and
a great perspective with high
reliability. He replied during
a discussion online with the
Jackass and colleagues on this
important issue. He wrote, "Not
true at all on the topple of
the Saudi regime, since this
is Iranian disinformation.
Watch as the Saudis link up
with Asia.
They are not stupid; they are
arrogant but not stupid. There
is obviously no understanding
of how internal Saudi control
works. If the morons who wrote
this report really bothered
to read even open source information,
they would understand that
the Saudis have a mountain
of cash in store. They have
enough cash to keep paying
off the population for at least
another five years to the tune
of $100 billion a year or more.
The numbers in protest are
impressive, agreed. But do
not forget that the Saudis
have the annual amnesty during
Ramadan, albeit they arrest
new ones right after. This
is precisely why they are expelling
foreign workers now. The riots
tend to occur when illegal
workers were being ejected.
Another key factor is involved
in the internal dynamics of
the Saudi nation. The Saudi
regime is expert at using tribal
linkages (as it always has)
to maintain internal control."

Again, the Jackass wonders if the internal struggles and massive internal pressures
from religious, economic, and
royal abuses might be too much
to hold the regime together
despite Royal actions to hold
it all firm. The Jackass leans
toward my longstanding excellent
source and mentor, whose judgment
has been superb and unimpeachable
for over five years. He has
direct experience in the Persian
Gulf, has Saudi clients, has Hong Kong clients, and has Russian friends. He is trusted in Arab circles
when few are. The Saudis will
hold it together, but not without
a grand battle that shakes
the House of Saud to its core.
They have pissed off Vladimir
Putin, a man not to threaten
lightly. They must withstand
the storm they started.

◄$$$ THE PLIGHT OF THE SAUDI REGIME WILL BECOME A MAJOR STORY IN YEAR
2014. THE CHALLENGES ARE INTERNAL
FROM MANY FORCES. THE CHALLENGES
ARE EXTERNAL FROM REGIONAL
BATTLES WITH IRAN AND RUSSIA. THE CHALLENGES ARE SECURITY RELATED,
AS THE KREMLIN WISHES TO UNSEAT
THE MEDDLESOME SAUDI ROYALS.
THE CHALLENGES ARE FINANCIAL.
AS THE PETRO-DOLLAR DIES OFF,
THE BLACK HOLE PRESSURES WILL
BE ASTRONOMICAL AND NOT FORESEEN
BY THE MAJORITY OF OBSERVERS.
$$$

Consider a point, then counter-point, and a conclusion. A low level conflict
will be used by those aligned
with the US & Saudi powers
to maintain power in order
to keep oil prices up. The
USGovt cronies in the Big Oil
firms in no way wish for a
steep oil price decline. In
that respect, the US and
Saudi interests are perfectly
aligned. The effects are two-fold
from a conflict that is managed.
The conflict will assure that
security groups remain in control
within the various governments,
including the United States. The conflict
will maintain the financial
market jitters on assured energy
supply chain. The Jackass has
specifically been predicting
that the Saudis will find
themselves extremely vulnerable
without their old protector
in the USGovt with its arsenal
in the USMilitary. As the
Petro-Dollar falls, expect
the House of Saud to undergo
extreme pressures in sequence.
It will not happen quickly.
It might result in the Saudi
regime falling. It might instead
result in the Saudi regime
leaning to the East far more,
with some change in leadership.
Recall that Al-Qaeda began
as a radical bunch of orthodox
Wahhabis inside Saudi
Arabia.
Later its violent wing was
managed by Langley.
In Arabic, the word Al-Qaeda
means The Base. Think Langley database like a Rolodex of contacts.

The only way the Saudi regime retains power is if four things occur. 1) The
Royals develop more effective
leadership from men who are
not dead or appear dead, like
the King Abdullah. The available
cast of serving monarchs from
the older Royals is pathetic.
They need strong effective
forceful leadership in a visible
overt manner. 2) The reforms
continue to liberate the nation
from the outmoded strictures
of Islamic rule. They must
put aside finally the reactionary
islamic mumbo jumbo draconian
measures and related imprisonments,
often on spurious charges.
3) The Royals manage to quickly
establish effective ties and
relations with Russia & China.
The power vacuum is clear from
the West, rising from the East,
but with a Russian foul wind
on the back end of a petro
pipe. They must repair the
extreme conflict with the Kremlin.
4) The Royals permit the development
of the Gas Pipelines, including
those from Iran.
They must coexist with Iranian
gas, with Yuan energy payments,
and with heavy Russian influence
in price systems. The Saudis
must coexist with a Syrian/Lebanese
offshore energy platform that
is not run by the US,
the British, the Europeans,
or Israel.
Unfortunately, a rise of Syrian
energy under the Gazprom label
might force a Saudi regime
change as casualty. Time
will tell if the Saudi Royals
adapt quickly and effectively.

The Saudis have crossed swords with the wrong man in Vladimir Putin, the Russian
President. He is a no-nonsense
leader, a forceful decision
maker, and a cunning tactician.
The threats given to Putin
by Prince Bandar over the Sochi
Winter Olympics went too far,
way over the line. They triggered
a Putin response with strong
urgent resolve. The Olympics
are the Russian showcase, just
like the 2008 Beijing Summer
Olympics were a Chinese showcase. At
issue is control of the Chechen
Islamic groups that specialize
in certain violence in a vast
underground. It is very unclear
whether the Saudis can control
or influence them. They
might have opened the Chechen
Pandora's Box, unable to control
the forces let loose. The Volgograd train station violent incident turned
on the Putin machinery. Some
response will come, retaliation
a certainty, but by what agents
and what depth is unclear.
One cannot imagine Putin taking
the blow and turning the other
cheek. The stakes are too high,
the prestige in the balance.
Already before the Bandar threat
by the Chechen arm, the Obama
Admin had actually challenged
Putin and the Sochi Olympics
on the gay rights issue. The
gay US President is making a statement, not a fashion
statement.

Recall that Barack Obama is both gay and a heroin addict. His gay boyfriends
in New York City have been murdered shortly after taking office in January
2009, making a clear path.
His narcotics devotion continues
the line of addicts from Clinton
and Bush Jr, none of whom submitted
medical records to the USCongress
as required by law. The wife
and family have fooled millions
of Americans, as Michele serves
as the so-called beard. The
Jackass is not fooled by mere
appearances. My sources include
a man who has a direct Chicago
friend from the same church
that Obama and his gay buddies
attended. Reverend Wright arranged
the marriage with Barack to
Michele, among the many beards
offered, sold, and married.
The most expensive beard on
the sales counter was Michele,
who came with the most difficult
advertised personality. Usage
of the so-called beards provides
effective political cover,
so that the gay men can pursue
political careers. A gay man
holding his wife's hand on
stand alongside his children
wins votes, not the gay pair
on display. As though the simple-minded
dullard gullible Americans
never heard of bisexual. Gee
whizz, how incredibly shallow
and naive in the modern world!!

The situation grows more complex and more ugly by the month. When discussing
the general Putin response
when pushed against a Olympic
wall, The Voice replied "Putin
will crush the Saudis. Just
watch this very closely." My
guess is the response will
be with the crude oil weapon. Putin
will force some process on
the Saudis that will sink them
later. He will force them to
adopt a financial linkage in
oil price dictated by Russian
supply, but tied also to the
Yuan price in denomination
for payment. The Saudis will
next adopt the mechanisms for
the Petro-Yuan very reluctantly. The
result will be a stern divided
conflict with the United
States,
certain to turn highly emotional,
deeply politically charged,
and extremely dangerous. Look
for the Saudis to take some
measure unwillingly that will
damage their interests, as
it will be forced upon them
by Russia & China. They will swallow
hard, realizing the battles
upcoming with the USGovt, the
USMilitary, and the favorite Langley
tool in Al-Qaeda that has many
nests inside the Saudi homeland.

The Voice admits that Saudi Arabia is very unstable
internally. His points follow,
with minor edits for flow.
He stated that it takes very
little maneuvering from the
outside to set the place on
fire. The Saudis might be
force fed their own medicine,
the same which has been administered
in Syria.
They interfered in Damascus,
in order to obstruct the Iran Gas
Pipelines from empowering the
Russian Gazprom. They interfered
so as to preserve the Petro-Dollar
as much as to prevent Shiite
energy power from growing too
strong. The sage veteran gold
trader said, "If you
make yourself bigger than you
are, your head will eventually
roll. If the Emir in Qatar had
not have stepped down to allow
his son to take over, the place
would have gone up in smoke.
In the process they pissed
away billions of $$$ in Northern
Africa by showing their support
for stupid US foreign policy." In the end, The
Voice expects the Saudis to
hold onto power, and for the
regime to stand, after a shaking
of the geopolitical tectonic
plates.

Back to the Jackass for conclusion, although far from comprehensive and definitive.
It is interesting how in the
Persian Gulf and Middle East
that energy policy and currency
policy (very much mixed) have
totally taken precedence over Palestine
and Gaza policy, the ongoing tragedy gradually forgotten.
The observer must conclude
that Israel is no longer in charge,
but only a powerful disruptive
influence steeped in frustration.
Its American dog on the Tel
Aviv leash in WashingtonDC
has turned weak, insolvent,
mangey, with missing teeth
but a loud growl. Instead,
the crumbling King Dollar and
the collapsing Fiat Paper currency
regimes are the main focus.
A transition is in store. My
conjecture is with the crude
oil weapon, Putin will force
some process on the Saudis
that will sink them later. The
Saudis must make major concessions
in the crude oil and currency
linkage front. They must in
order to retain power, but
doing so will rip the Saudi-American
curtain, to rend it totally.
Look for a three-way oil deal
lured to Saudis in a Russian-Chinese
pact. Look for Russian hit
squads hired by Putin to eliminate
minor Royals, sending a message.
Look for the Kremlin to fund
rival groups against the Saudi
Royals, exerting pressures
on a ready button. Always remember
that Vladimir Putin is a master
chess player and brilliant
tactician. As footnote, the
Saudis announced with considerable
fanfare a surprise submission
of a bobsled team to the Sochi
Winter Olympics, their first
ever. Give them credit for
not hiring Indians or Pakistanis
or Philippinos. One is left
to wonder if their junk under
the hood benefits from the
sturdy girding of athletic
supporters, and if wearing
the equipment is permitted
under Islamic law.

◄$$$ A MAJOR OIL & GAS DISCOVERY OFFSHORE SYRIA SERVES AS AMPLE MOTIVE
FOR US-ISRAELI MERCENARY UPRISING
AND BLOODY CONFLICT IN DAMASCUS.
NOT JUST THE IRANIAN GAS PIPELINES,
OR THE NAVAL PORT, BUT MORE
OFFSHORE ENERGY DISCOVERIES
ENTER THE MIX. THE BATTLE
OVER EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN OFFSHORE ENERGY
DEPOSITS HAS SPAWNED WAR. THE
WESTERN PRESS OMITS THE ENERGY
ANGLE ALWAYS, BOTH THE OFFSHORE
BIG NEW FIND AND THE CRITICAL
GAS PIPELINES. $$$

In basic terms, Syrian peace means ample gas for Moscow
and increased European geopolitical
leverage by Gazprom. While Western and Arab diplomats
have been occupied to ensure
that the Iran-Syrian talks
that begin in Geneva
on January 22nd result in
a satisfactory patchwork
of success, Russia has been busy positioning its
national gas companies around
the Eastern
Mediterranean. The energy
angle is completely omitted
in the US and Western press. Venture a guess that over
70% of Americans know nothing
of the Russian gas giant,
and 90% never heard of Rosneft
(twice the size of Exxon/Mobil).
The Israeli Tamar floating
platform has become well-known,
certain to be a boon to their
economy. It will bring in
significant export income,
but the borders of the oil & gas
deposit conflict with Syria and Lebanon.
Tel Aviv wants it all, and
has used war to promote the
energy deposit capture. Unfortunately,
the truth is ugly, that the US and its Axis of Fascism allies rely upon war
to further its economic position,
by ensuring energy supply.
The same motive has been
evident in Iraq, Libya,
even Afghanistan, for military
attacks with no justifiable
basis, usually phony grounds.
The cause for war has turned
political and devious, yet
another key fascist trait.
The US Geological Survey
reported that the Levant Basin,
which covers Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Palestine, contains around 122 trillion cubic feet of gas and at least
1.7 billion barrels of oil.
There is motive for war,
and for news suppression.

The Israeli Govt plans to expand its promising Tamar platform, with a gas terminal
equipped also with a sea-based
defense radar system. While
they lay claim and protect
the rich offshore energy rights,
a conflict with Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Palestine emerges,
which also share the Levant Basin
oil & gas claims for income.
Imagining Palestinian energy
related royalties would bring
laughter to both the US and
Israeli capitals. Expect obstruction.
The Israeli Mossad troops and
their foreign mercenaries were
dispatched into Syria to
help the US and
its mercenaries, with strange
Al-Qaeda alliances. The bloody
uprising in Damascus could be easily regarded as motive to wrest from Syria its rights in the Levant Basin. Expect the energy rights to
be debated during future peace
talks. The energy pact between Israel and
its Arab neighbors might be
grand event that offers constructive
precedence. A Lebanese
Parliament leader Speaker has
made public statements to the
effect that according to the
maps, the Levant
deposit extends into Lebanese
waters. The Lebanese Energy
Minister Gebran Bassil in June
2012 made public statements
to defend their offshore rights,
even warning the Nobel Energy
firm (based in Texas) not to work close to the Lebanese economic zone. A coastal
state has legally defined offshore
energy rights in its economic
zone, which extends 200 nautical
miles (370 kilometers), according
to the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea.

The war details are ugly. Hundreds of USGovt financed mercenaries from Academi
and Xe Services LL (formerly
known as Blackwater) have been
captured and killed by Syrian
forces in Syria. As many as 700 foreign
mercenaries of Arab and Western
descent have been collected,
bearing weapons made by Israeli,
US, and European firms. They
were seized in Baba Amro in
March 2012. The amazing development
in propaganda and reactions
is that the USGovt has aligned
with Al-Qaeda in Syria, but nobody seems capable to conclude that
Al-Q is a US-directed military
asset. It has been for several
years, without recognition.
Evidence stares the observer
in the face. The picture painted
by the US media
does not match the reality.
The United Nations and the
USGovt operate against legitimate
time-honored sovereignty precepts.
Foreign journalists are confirming
cross-border terrorism from Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
all into Syria.
They have uncovered evidence
of direct USGovt involvement
in the Syrian uprising. It
is US financed mercenaries
who are killing innocent civilians.
It is the Saudi finance mercenaries
who spread chemical weapons
for mass deaths. The targeted
victims are often the Syrian
civilian population. See the
older December 2012 Counter
PsyOps article (CLICK HERE),
which is more relevant than
ever.

◄$$$ GAZPROM IS MAKING A FOOTHOLD IN IRAQ,
AS RUSSIA BEGINS TO PRODUCE
OIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY
WILL SOON OVERSEE THE IRAN-SYRIAN
GAS PIPELINE THAT PASSES THROUGH NORTHERN
IRAQ. $$$

Gazprom Neft has produced its first oil at the Badra oilfield in Iraq.
The city is located in southeastern Iraq near the Iraq-Iran border. They made a successful
completion of well-testing
at its BD4 appraisal well at
the end of December. A daily
natural flow rate of 7000 barrels
of oil was recorded. Gazprom
Neft is operator of the Badra
oilfield, subsidiary to the
Gazprom giant. Potential production
capacity was measured through
the sequential testing of six
drilled strata, followed by
final testing of all pay horizons.
Testing continues at two other
drilled wells within the same
field. Additional work in 2014
will begin on the drilling
of six production wells under
a related contract with China's
ZPEC. The support structure
necessary to bring the field
into commercial production
this year is also nearing completion.
Work also continues on the
construction of a 170,000 bpd
central gathering facility.
Preparations for the construction
of a gas conversion plant bearing
1.5 million cubic meter annual
capacity are also underway.
Lastly, work to connect the
field to Iraq's main pipeline
network is also nearing completion.

CEO Vadim Yakovlev of Gazprom Neft stated, "With well testing completed,
we are one step closer to
beginning commercial production
at the Badra field. Since
beginning development, practically
from scratch, just three
years ago, a Gazprom Neft-led
consortium has completed
a major project in establishing
all the facilities necessary
for large-scale production
at Badra. This will begin
as early as this year." See
the Oil Voice article (CLICK HERE)
and the Iraq Business News
article (CLICK HERE). The US motives for being in Iraq are extremely dubious.
Oil production might have
taken a second position to
massive defense contracts,
massive service contracts,
and operation of the Iraqi
Export Bank for narcotics
sale clearing house functions
managed by JPMorgan. The US has walked away from the
Iraqi oil prize, leaving
it to Gazprom.

## PETRO-DOLLAR DEMISE

◄$$$ JPMORGAN METAL FUTURES UNIT IS ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN A COMMODITIES
SALE, DESPITE BANK DENIALS.
THE PLOYS CONTINUE TO KEEP
THE ONGOING GOLD PRICE SUPPRESSION
ACTIVE. ONE SIDE ATTEMPTS TO
COMPLY WITH REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS,
WHILE THE OTHER SIDE ATTEMPTS
TO MAINTAIN GOLD INVENTORY
MANAGEMENT SCHEME TIED TO DEEP
GOLD MARKET FRAUD. THE JPM
FOLKS ARE LIARS TO THE END.
THE BIG BANK IS UNDER SIEGE
BY REGULATORS WHO SLOWLY GROW
TEETH. BEING REVEALED IS THE
INTER-RELATIONS WITH THE BROKERAGE
BUSINESS, LIKE IN PROVIDING
CREDIT. $$$

JPMorgan Chase is the world's biggest dealer in over-the-counter metals derivatives.
They must divest. The giant
bank has added its metals futures
brokerage to the sale of the
physical commodities business,
according to internal sources.
The monkey JPMorgan spokesman
initially declined to comment,
but later denied it boldly,
a grand lie in a sequence of
one thousand lies as corporate
policy. The only admitted element
in the sale is its London Metal
Exchange (LME) open outcry
floor trading team, one of
the largest on the world's
premier metals marketplace
in the City. The deal will
be slow in coming together
as final. Curiously, the honest
broker side of the USGovt has
stepped up the scrutiny over
Wall Street crime centers.
They are actively working to
force them to divest their
physical commodity operations.
Refer to Deutsche Bank and
JPMorgan, who are compelled
to exit or reduce their commodities
business. A source said, "US
regulations are already having
a serious effect on the brokerage.
It will get even worse when
EU regulations come into effect.
It is starting to impact on
the brokerage revenues. They
had to sell the concentrated
business and might be forced
to lose the warehousing business.
Then logically number three
is the brokerage business." Slowly
the fortress used to defend
the USDollar is being dismantled.

JPMorgan began the procedure to sell its physical commodities business in October,
circulating key documents to
potential buyers. They valued
the assets at $3.3 billion,
a lofty price for a crime-ridden
center. However, at the time
the huge futures brokerage
was not part of the sale. JPM
is a dominant operator in world
metals markets. JPMorgan
has been trying to sell its
Henry Bath metals warehousing
unit in addition since May,
but no buyers have come forward. It
remains unclear whether the
deal will result in an outright
sale or a joint venture. Perhaps
the Chinese are waiting for
the price to come down to earth,
like cut in half. Bankers and
industry sources believe that
potential buyers could come
from one of several areas:
foreign banks such as Brazil's
BTG Pactual, or Canada's Macquarie which
is not subject to USFed regulations.
Pressures on banks have mounted
over the past few years. The
regulators have grown teeth,
as they crack down on proprietary
trading. The new capital measures
limit trading books from clear
conflict of interest. The overarching
issue of too big to manage,
meaning so large that they
destroy the global financial
structures, has never been
truly dealt with. Curiously,
cost of compliance in the brokerage
business is mounting. The
slimy veins are seen in ample
credit provided through their
brokerage business. The connection
is what exposes the crossing
of the proprietary wall. The
tentacles run deep. See the
Reuters article (CLICK HERE).

◄$$$ SHADOW WAREHOUSES ARE HOARDING INDUSTRIAL METALS, AS THE WORLD'S
METAL IS SLIPPING INTO THE
SHADOWS OF A CONVENIENT SYSTEM
BEYOND REGULATION. THE POWER
CENTERS SLIP AWAY FROM THE
LIGHT AS THEY ATTEMPT TO RETAIN
CONTROL. $$$

Banks, hedge funds, commodity merchants, and other seamy firms (like offshore
subsidiaries) are hiding tens
of millions of tons of aluminum,
copper, nickel, and zinc in
a hidden system of warehouses. The
network spans the globe. These
facilities are known to some
in the industry as shadow warehouses,
since unregulated and not subject
to disclosure. Their purpose
is to operate outside the London
Metal Exchange system of warehouses,
their traditional home. As
of October, a record 7 million
to 10 million tons of aluminum
were being housed in these
facilities, in countries as
disparate as Malaysia and
the Netherlands,
according to several analysts.
The banker tools are being
hidden like cockroaches in
shadowy locales.

◄$$$ PEPE ESCOBAR HAS DECLARED THAT ALL IS IN PLAY IN THE NEW GREAT GAME.
HE EXPECTS IRAN TO BE THE MAJOR
CENTER OF FOCUS FOR THE NEW
YEAR AS THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT
GAINS MOMENTUM AND TRACTION.
LOOK FOR TURKEY TO SEEK INCLUSION IN THE CLUB, DESPITE
THE EXTREME PRESSURE FROM THE
SYRIAN EPISODE. REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
WILL BE PUT ASIDE IN THE GREATER
SCHEME OF FINANCIAL UNITY CENTERED
ON ENERGY NETWORKS WITH RUSSIA & CHINA AT
THE HELM. THE PARADIGM SHIFT
IS HAPPENING. $$$

The following is taken directly from a public essay by the astute and well
connected Pepe Escobar (no
relation to Pablo of Colombian
drug lord infamy). Let him
begin, with bolds mine for
emphasis of important points.
The big story of 2014 will
be Iran. Of course, the big
story of the early 21st century
will never stop being US-China,
but it is in 2014 that we will
know whether a comprehensive
accord transcending the Iranian
nuclear program is attainable,
and in this case the myriad
ramifications will affect all
that is in play in the New
Great Game in Eurasia,
including US-China. As
it stands, we have an interim
deal of the P5+1 group (the
UN Security Council's five
permanent members plus Germany)
with Iran, and no deal between
the US and Afghanistan. So,
once again, we have Afghanistan configured as a battleground between Iran and
the House of Saud, part of
a geopolitical game played
out in overdrive since the US invasion of Iraq in
2003 along the northern rim
of the Middle East all the
way to Khorasan and South Asia. Then there is the element of Saudi paranoia, extrapolating
from the future of Afghanistan to
the prospect of a fully rehabilitated Iran becoming accepted by Western political and
financial elites. This, by
the way, has nothing to do
with that fiction, the international
community; after all, Iran was
never banished by the BRICS,
(i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China,
and South
Africa),
the Non-Aligned Movement, and
the bulk of the developing
world.

As much as India, Iraq is
also in favor of a comprehensive
deal with Iran. And to think that Iran and Iraq might
have been engaged in a silent
nuclear arms race with one
another at the end of the last
century, just for Baghdad now
to fiercely defend Tehran's
right to enrich uranium.
Not to mention that Baghdad
depends on Iran for
trade, electricity, and material
help in that no-holds-barred
war against Islamists and Salafi
Jihadis.

Turkey also welcomes a comprehensive agreement with Iran. Turkey's
trade with Iran has
nowhere to go but up. The target
is US$30 billion by 2015. More
than 2500 Iranian companies
have invested in Turkey,
a huge number. Ankara
cannot possibly support Western
sanctions; it makes no business
sense. Sanctions go against
its policy of expanding trade.
Moreover, Turkey depends
on inexpensive natural gas
imported from Iran. After deviating wildly from its previous
policy of zero problems with
its neighbors, Ankara is awakening to the business prospect of Syrian reconstruction. Iraq may
help, drawing from its oil
wealth. Energy-deprived Turkey cannot afford to be
marginalized. A re-stabilized Syria will mean the go-ahead for the $10 billion
Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline. If Ankara
plays the game, an extension
could be in the cards, fitting Turkey's clear position as
a privileged crossroads from
East to West in critical pipeline
traffic. [The Jackass believed
the Syrian conflict was all
about the pipeline from the
start, and never about chemical
weapons or Assad oppression.]

The bottom line is that the Turkish-Iranian conflict
over the future of Syria pales when compared with the energy game
and booming trade. This points
to Ankara
and Tehran
increasingly converging into
finding a peaceful solution
in Syria. But there is a huge problem. The
Geneva II conference on January
22nd may represent the nail
in the coffin of the House
of Saud's push to inflict
regime change on Bashar al-Assad.
Once again, this implies
that Bandar Bush is ready
to go absolutely medieval,
plowing the whole spectrum
of summary executions, beheadings,
suicide, and car bombings
during all out sectarianism
along the Iraqi-Syrian-Lebanese
front. At least there will
be a serious counter-punch.
As Sharmine Narwani outlines
here, the former Shiite crescent,
or axis of resistance, is
now reconstituting itself
as a security arc against
Salafi Jihadis. Pentagon
conceptualizers of the arc
of instability variety never
thought about such a reaction.
See the Asia Times article
by Escobar (CLICK HERE). It
will be absolutely amazing
to watch the regional conflicts
fade away in the name of
the greater objective to
seek a stable trade system
with viable payment structure
for settlement in the pursuit
of the non-USDollar alternative. The
big loser might be the Saudi
Royals if they do not properly
join the process. Continuation
to disrupt with violence
and veiled terrorism might
result in the royals in Riyadh
losing their own heads. See
also the PressTV article
(CLICK HERE)
that reports on Putin's motive
to destroy the Saudi rulers.
The Saudis might well adapt
and continue, but the Jackass
has firm doubts. Too many
loose cannons like Saudi
Prince Bandar stirring up
trouble, funding assassins,
supplying terrorists, and
hiring murder hit squads.

◄$$$ THE SWISS BANKERS MOVE CLOSER TOWARDS A RENMINBI HUB REALITY. THEY
ARE BEHIND IN THE ACTIVE GAME,
PLAYING CATCH-UP. LONDON
AND FRANKFURT
ARE WAY AHEAD. THE YUAN CURRENCY
TRADE WILL SOLIDIFY THE NON-USDOLLAR
ALTERNATIVE MOVEMENT. GREAT
IRONY COMES, SINCE THE FINAL
NAIL IN THE USDOLLAR COFFIN
WILL COME FROM LONDON, FRANKFURT, AND SWITZERLAND. THE SWISS BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS
NOT ENTHUSIASTIC AT ALL, AS
EXTREME COMPETITION MUST BE
SENSED. $$$

The once prestigious bankers of Switzerland strive to construct
a Chinese Yuan trading hub.
They are crawling on their
knees before the Beijing
leaders. The Swiss are late
to the game, since London
affirmed the Yuan Swap Facility
a year ago, and the Euro Central
Bank in Frankfurt did the same a few months afterwards. The Swiss are a
proud pompous arrogant corrupt
crowd. They have no compunction
to participate with vile criminal
syndicates. Finally they must
appeal to China for a secondary role.
The Swiss central bank has
recently opened talks with
its Chinese counterpart to
swap currencies in facilitated
trade, which strikes at the
heart of the USD-centric trade
system. Global renminbi (RMB)
transactions gather pace, which
affirm the vision emerging
of a new international reserve
currency competing with the
King Dollar, Euro, and British
pound. Financial centres are
jostling to enjoy the prestige
and profits of becoming RMB
conduits. In December 2012,
the Swiss Govt officially announced
its intention of becoming a
RMB Hub, joining Britain, Canada, Germany, and France. But the proud left-footed Swiss are slow
in making the steps. They did
succeed in signing a free trade
agreement (FTA) with China earlier
this year. Winning the RMB
Hub is a bigger mandate to
secure. The Beijing leaders prefer bilateral negotiations,
often conducted in secrecy
where slimy deals can be cut.
The Swiss might offer more
visas for Chinese investors,
as many nations including Costa Rica have done.

Switzerland might be left behind by rival countries. The London
bankers have some leverage,
due to its historical connection
with Hong Kong. They might win quick approval to set up a currency swap
arrangement, then pave the
way for a number of Chinese
banks to set up shop on British
soil. A central bank
swap agreement allows high
volumes of Chinese Yuan to
enter a country, while offshore
branches from a set of Chinese
banks is needed to process
RMB transactions on the other
end. To date, Switzerland has
neither bridge footing element
in place. The arrogant corrupt
Swiss bankers are steeped
in controversy from the illicit
raids on Allocated Gold Accounts,
are embroiled in scummy deals
with the USGovt to share
bank data, and are dealing
with grotesque insolvency
from a decade of ruinous
lending and investments.
See their three legged stool
of feces in Eastern European
mortgages, in US Agency Mortgage
Bonds, and lost accounts
from violated secrecy. The
Swiss are reeling, on the
defensive, and doing a poor
job of catching up to rivals.

The Swiss bankers have cleverly adapted their financial center, by creating
and trading RMB-denominated
financial products, such as
derivatives, bonds, and funds.
They hope the bird seed attracts
Chinese flocks. Private banks
have opened thousands of accounts
that currently are valued at
RMB20 billion in Switzerland,
according to the Swiss Bankers
Assn. Many more RMB billions
are held by the vast Swiss
funds industry or are traded
via a range of financial products
from Switzerland.

The mainstream view is weird. They talk of investors and bankers observing
a marriage of Western capitalism
and Chinese communism. The
reality is that the US, UK,
and a small ally nation on
the SouthEast Mediterranean
serve as the undeniable Axis
of Fascism, while the former
communist giants Russia & China have
embraced a strange version
of capitalism. A secured win
of London, Frankfurt, and Zurich would serve as a convincing trifecta, an impressive Pan-European
platform for the global currency
Yuan challenge to the King
Dollar. The corrupted debauched
counterfeited USDollar is dying
a horrible death, drowning
in a self-made pit of toxic
paper slime.

Some signs indicate that Switzerland is moving to
close the gap with its hub
rivals. In early December,
the Swiss National Bank heralded
a swap arrangement with the
Peoples Bank of China, early in its conception.
The parties declined to reveal
the volume of currencies that
would be swapped or the timetable
to achieve this result. The
Swiss regulatory body made
a formal statement, to the
effect that commercial Chinese
banks had unofficially sent
encouraging signals about setting
up operations in Switzerland at a future date.
Bear in mind that the Bank
of China sold its Geneva
operations in 2012 after a
failed four-year frustration
in Switzerland. Methinks
the Chinese distrust the Swiss,
and the Swiss distrust the
Chinese in very profound hidden
ways. The Swiss Bankers
Assn issued a report in July
outlining potential benefits
of RMB Hub status for other
Swiss industries. They cited
lowering exchange rate volatility
risks, access to a wider array
of suppliers in China,
and reducing operational costs
on the Chinese mainland. A
down side exists. Many other
sectors in the Swiss Economy
which trade extensively in China have so far remained
more pessimistic about any
upside potential from exposure
to the Chinese currency. The
financial sector is somewhat
alone pushing forward. Competition
with Chinese industry has contributed
mightily to wreck the entire
Western Economies, as globalization
has been a ruse to shift power
East.

A muted response came from to a related survey issued by the Swiss Business
Federation called Economie
Suisse two years ago, according
to chief economist Rudolf Minsch. Many
companies see no marginal benefit
of a Swiss RMB Hub. Firms
operating in China can already exchange USDollars for RMB through Hong
Kong. Minsch is convinced that
an RMB Hub development could
bring about savings for firms,
once they learned to use the
system properly. He urges the
Swiss to press onward with
such a hub, before it is too
late. It might be a matter
not losing entire businesses,
rather than saving costs on
business. He pointed out that
history shows frontrunners
who move ahead in a volume
intensive business make it
impossible for competitors
to catch up and thus achieve
similar volume. See the Swiss
Info article (CLICK HERE).
Competition in Europe will
be intense from London
and Frankfurt.
It will be full of intrigue
if all three do extraordinarily
well at being a RMB Hub, forcing
the USDollar trade into the
shadows, as the US falls
in the De-Industrialized Third
World.

## PETRO-GOLD HIDDEN BIRTH

◄$$$ THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT MIGHT BE THE CASUALTY OF A $119 BILLION PETRO-DOLLAR
LOOPHOLE. THE GREAK SILK ROAD IS MAKING A RETURN, WITH GILDED
CENTER STRIPES. AN INCREDIBLY
POWERFUL REACTION TO THE IRAN SANCTIONS
HAS OCCURRED, WHICH SHOULD
ASTONISH ANALYSTS. IRAN HAS BIULT A PETRO-GOLD HIGHWAY OUT OF NECESSITY
AND EXPEDIENCE. IRAN HAS BROUGHT THE KING DOLLAR TO ITS KNEES.
THE IRAN TALKS
ARE ABOUT USDOLLAR SURRENDER,
TO ASSURE NO NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
IN ITS WAKE. $$$

The 21st century equivalent of the Great Silk Road is beginning to emerge.
It has been constructed in
the last year. The Iran lab
rat has escaped the maze built
by the USGovt and has wandered
off the great Petro-Dollar
experimental table, as depicted
in the creative imagery devised
by Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge.
Conventional wisdom had taught
that no escape is possible.
The East presents Petro-Gold,
as necessity has proved once
more to be the mother of invention.
Present the Petro-Gold triangle
formed by means of Turkey, Dubai, and Iran,
in the gas-for-gold trade.
The toppled government in the
next phase might be the USGovt,
as the Petro-Dollar is being
carted to the global cemetery,
where war usually is triggered.
Amazingly, the feisty maverick Iran has constructed the
embryonic lanes for trade settlement
in gold.

The gold trade has long been at the center of controversial financial ties
between Halkbank of Turkey
and the oil ministry in Iran.
Research conducted in May 2013
by the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies and Roubini
Global Economics revealed the
Halkbank exploited a golden
loophole in the punitive extensive
sanctions by the USGovt against
the Iran regime. The ruse
was the public declaration
of design to curb Iran's nuclear program. The
reality was to halt energy
sales outside the USDollar.
Its detailed workings are as
simple and elegant as they
are powerful. The Turks exported
some $13 billion of gold to Tehran
directly, or through the UAE,
between March 2012 and July
2013. In return, the Turks
received Iranian crude oil & natural
gas. Due to sanctions which
prevented Iran from
being paid in USDollars or
Euros, the Turks allowed Tehran
to buy Gold bullion with their
Turkish Lira. The same Gold
found its way back to Iranian
coffers. The meddlesome lords
of the universe in WashingtonDC
forgot to include Gold as a
currency. The irony behind
the backfire will be told for
ages in the next annals of
history. Not only did Turkey buy
energy from Iran indirectly
in Gold, but it demonstrated
how Ankara
banks could serve as third-party
intermediary in energy purchases
from Iran by other nations. Think
of India or Pakistan or
even China. The Iran sanctions provided the
cradle from which the Petro-Gold
model was born in a grand backlash. Turkey will
emerge as gold trade settlement
intermediary once again, a
role it has played for a few
thousand years. The American
crime bosses have been outsmarted
by Persian craft and guile.
The New
York and London bankers might be too busy in court defending
their fraud, making settlements
that defer prosecution. They
might be too busy in front
of the mirror.

This gas-for-gold scheme allowed the Iranians to replenish
their foreign exchange reserves
in fast decline. Their account
had been hit hard by the
international sanctions placed
on their banking system. Regard the action taken by Turkish banks, with tacit approval by Ankara
leaders, to be a clear betrayal
of the NATO code. They slapped
the US & UK in the face, and kicked them in the groin.
The Turks apparently paid
lip service to the USGovt,
telling the cast of NATO
allies that they oppose the
mythical militarized Iran nuclear program. Turkey ignored
the additional sanctions
written in July 2012, directed
at Iran on precious metals trade, which targeted Dubai. The prominent resplendent UAE city state
has operated as the main
gold trading center in the
Persian Gulf for longer than
the United States has been a nation.

The Turks and Iranians leaned on a thousand year old tradition that superceded
an overplayed hand by the naive
arrogant Obama Admin officials. Turkey chose
to exploit a loophole that
technically permitted the transfer
of $billions of Gold bullion
to private entities in Iran. The US officials had motive to obstruct Turkey from gold transfers
to private Iranian citizens,
a fuzzy distinction indeed. The
financial firms in Teheran
were hired on contract in the
bypass by the Iran Govt. The
USCongress might believe they
shut down the Petro-Gold trade
in July last year, but it probably
continues in earnest with an
army of mules. In the process,
the Turkish political elite
have been exposed to a vast
Iranian underworld, as historical
routes prevailed. See the Zero
Hedge article (CLICK HERE).

◄$$$ THE TURKISH GOVT SCANDAL INCLUDED THE GOLD TRADE. IT WILL BE INTERESTING
TO NOTE WHETHER ANY ADDITIONAL
PROSECUTION WILL OCCUR FOR
TRADE VIOLATIONS WITH NEIGHBOR IRAN, SINCE BOUND IN TRADITION. SOME HIGH JINKS
NEGOTIATIONS ARE IMPLIED BETWEEN
THE USGOVT ON THE ONE SIDE
AND IRAN & TURKEY ON THE OTHER SIDE. IMPORTANT BACKROOM
DEALS MIGHT HAVE BEEN CUT AS
THE GLOBAL PARADIGM SHIFT CONTINUES
APACE. THE POWER IS GOING EAST
WITH THE GOLD. $$$

Suspicious transactions between Iran and Turkey could exceed $119 billion, almost ten
times the total of energy
related transactions previously
reported. The Jackass smells
a Turkish intermediary role
with other nations. The ruling party in the Turkish
Govt has been rocked by a
sweeping corruption scandal,
of which the gas-for-gold
routes are a part. About
twenty elite figures, including
connected business tycoons
and the sons of top government
ministers, have been charged
with a wide range of financial
crimes. The charges became
global front page news on
Christmas Day, when three
ministers implicated in the
scandal resigned. One minister
even made a dramatic call
for Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to abdicate
his post as well. Instead,
an exhausted Erdogan announced
a cabinet reshuffle that
changed ten ministers. The
details read like a spy novel,
or a spellbinding drama.
Police reportedly discovered
shoeboxes containing $4.5
million cash in the home
of Suleyman Aslan, the CEO
of state-owned Halkbank.
Police arrested Reza Zarrab,
who allegedly managed deals
worth almost $10 billion
last year alone. He is an
Iranian businessman primarily
dealing in the gold trade.

The gold trade has long been at the center of controversial financial ties
between Halkbank and Iran, cited in the Hat Trick
Letter two years ago. The exploited
loophole held favor in the
eyes of some Turkish leaders.
Furthermore, the Turkish Ambassador
from Iran, Ali Reza Bikdeli recently
praised Halkbank for its smart
management decisions in recent
years that have played an important
role in Iranian-Turkish relations.
A whiff of defiance is noted.
Halkbank insists that its role
in these transactions was entirely
legal, most likely true. Watch
to see if the violators receive
mere hand slaps and fines.

A strange sequence of events took place, under the watch of the amateurish
Obama Admin. They might have
cut a deal for future consideration,
or for lenience in USTreasury
Bond dumping exercises that
could catch fire globally. The
USCongress and President Obama
closed this golden loophole
in January 2013. They could
have taken action against state-owned
Halkbank, which processed the
transactions outside the sanctions.
They could have used existing
sanctions to cut off the Turkish
bank from the US financial system. Instead,
the Obama Admin lobbied to
assure the loophole closure
law did not take effect for
six months. Doing so ensured
that the gold transactions
continued uninterrupted until
July 1st, enabling Iran to accrue $billions
more in Gold, further undermining
the sanctions regime. Perhaps
the USGovt cut a deal to share
some narcotics flow from the
Turkish NATO base at Incirlik.
Perhaps the USGovt won a promise
that China would
not dump USTBonds en masse,
since the Beijing
banks were beneficiary to the
Turkish gold intermediary supply
linked to Iran's oil exports to Asia.
Perhaps the Iran Govt leaders
promised a more moderate new
president, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(aka I'm Your Dinner Jacket)
was soon to depart. Perhaps
the Iran Govt promised to delay
joining in full force the BRICS
nations and their entire movement. Iran is
a major oil & gas exporter,
far larger than most Westerners
realize. Many are the US vulnerabilities
as a nascent Third
World nation, and many are
the potential deals cut to
buy time for the stretched
reign of the doomed King Dollar.
It is fast falling off its
fractured weakened throne.

Other interpretations of the US paper tiger actions have
been floated. Possibly, the
Obama Admin did not have compelling
evidence of the Iranian Govt
role in any gold trade. Possibly
the US President as puppet wished to protect his relationship
with Ankara,
not wanting a diplomatic row
with Erdogan. Turkey after
all is a key pivot ally in
the region, as will be seen
in the Eurasian Trade Zone
as well. At the same time, Turkey was
playing a key role in US policy
in Syria.
Possibly, the USGovt wished
to appease its own allies,
who regarded the Iran sanctions as far too punitive not only to Iran, but also to Western
European nations. It appears
the US under the clumsy Obama hand lost on all fronts. Possibly,
the compromise had more to
do with coaxing Iran into signing a nuclear
deal. There might have been
an American olive branch extended
to Iran via Turkey, done to persuade its leaders to continue
backchannel negotiations with
the United States, under other hidden agendas. Again
though, the US is
not on any winning side, since
the Iran Talks are not about
nuclear disarmament or dismantled
weapons programs. The main
nuclear topic in discussion
at the Geneva-based Iran Talks
is the usage of nuclear weapons
by the United
States in
retaliation for abandoning
the USDollar, a highly secretive
table topic. The gain for the
USGovt is the appearance of
taking the high ground of diplomacy,
while guilty of genocide in
civilian killings and earth
crimes in HAARP usage on earthquakes,
hurricanes, and rainfall. The
USGovt is playing an absurd
end game strategy to save face
as it falls into the Third
World. See the Today's Zaman
article (CLICK HERE).

◄$$$ THE BIRTH OF THE PETRO-GOLD WILL COINCIDE WITH THE BIRTH OF THE
PETRO-YUAN, AND LATER USHER
IN THE GOLD TRADE SETTLEMENT
IN FULL GLORY. IT REMAINS TO
BE SEEN WHAT THE NEW GOLD-BACKED
CURRENCIES WILL BE, BUT THEY
WILL ARRIVE IN A POWERFUL STREAM,
PROBABLY IN DIRECT RESPONSE
TO A UNMISTAKABLE SYSTEMIC
COLLAPSE THAT CANNOT BE PAINTED
OVER IN THE FINANCIAL PRESS.
$$$

The Voice offered his interpretation, which reveals the bigger scope, while he
even admitted a role in the
design of the Petro-Gold
trade with Iran and Turkey.
His opinion is offered in
harsh uncompromised unvarnished
terms, as his disgust has
grown by an order of magnitude
in the last few years. He
bristled at the Lehman Brother
failure after forewarning
the Jackass one month in
advance (tipping me off for
the exact weekend in September
2008), its orchestrated collapse,
taken in exploit to firm
the broken power structure.
He scoffed at the non-solutions
by the USFed, and the many
disruptive patches that served
nobody except the Anglo Elite.
He has contempt for the corruption
and deep regret for the colossal
losses to come for innocent
people. He is angry at the
usage of war as an infrastructure
tool. He despises the evil
roots and vines that spread
across the world from elite
offices. He has had direct
encounters with the USDept
Treasury and their thugs,
with direct experience turning
them away. These emotions
have been well communicated
in the last few years. He
wrote, "The Turkey Petro-Gold route is only part of a much
larger scheme that will eventually
unhinge the USDollar and
change the way trade is being
conducted among nations.
The US leaders are incredibly
shortsighted in their self-assured
unmitigated arrogance. They
believe they can patronize
whomever they chose to push
around. The US is collateral damage and
testament to their policy
failures, with hegemony causing
a massive backlash. The unfolding
of surprise disruptive events
is exactly how the ball rolls.
If the reader ever wanted
to know and understand what
asymmetric warfare and politics
are about, then revisit the
Vietnam War and the Afghan
War, both of which have been
major defeats for the US
aggressor, due to lack of
real knowledge of history.
[Jackass: assume narcotics
trade capture is not in the
equation for either war]

I
have come to the conclusion
that the US does not understand its
own history. The US citizenry
has far too often been degraded.
Its leader is the great Manchurian
candidate without proper
recognition by the dull masses
over which he rules. It is
a tragedy being forced to
witness first hand how the US has been thrown under
the bus of history, the key
event being the dismissal
and rejection of the USDollar
that rides its designed Petro-Dollar
chariot. The chariot is being
dismantled before our eyes.
The US is
collateral damage and testament
to human folly in monetary
management. Sadly, the American
people have an exceptionally
poor understanding of the
world. They have accepted
a Disneyland
version of reality, best
suited for the delusion victims.
They are so easily deceived,
and so easily led to support
war."

Ouch! but sadly more than a little true. The Voice captures much of the Jackass
sentiment, but delivered with
more caustic imagery. He has
a unique perception as a global
trader and consultant, with
a impressive list of clients,
but more importantly a foreign
perspective. What comes
in the year 2014 during the
global USDollar rejection and
the USTreasury Bond divestiture
will surely make for an ongoing
nightmare to watch.Russia will pull some strings in Saudi Arabia and the Persian
Gulf. Putin will likely use Dubai
and China together
with Iran to weaken the House
of Saud, and possibly to knock
them off their exploitative
throne. Russian vengeance is
coming very soon. Russian
tactics will likely force the
Saudis to adopt certain financial
devices on oil pricing. Their
adoption will wreck the US relations,
like massive lobs of grenades
into the USTBond and Big Bank
Stock windows. In 12 to
18 months, expect the House
of Saud Royals will be on the
run in Southern Europe, as in running for their lives from both Russian and
HezBollah hit squads. To the
forecast of Saudi Royals being
on the run to save their skin
and their wealth, my great
source agreed. The attack on
the Saudis does not necessarily
mean the fall of the House
of Saud, only tremendous changes.

◄$$$ GREECE, TURKEY,
AND UKRAINE ARE
CRITICAL LINCHPINS, EACH WITH
A CRITICAL PIVOTAL ROLE TO
PLAN IN THE GLOBAL PARADIGM
SHIFT AND IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE EURASIAN TRADE ZONE.
$$$

The following are just Jackass perceptions, but the future landscape is unfolding
gradually and with critical
shocks. To be sure, Cyprus might
stay in the European Union,
but it will keep a big window
open to Russia with the GazpromBank.
Then Greece will
be a battleground for its energy
pipeline access to Europe,
perhaps the main reason why
the EU continues to throw good
money after bad in Athens. Then Turkey and Ukraine are critically important to tip the entire
table East for the Eurasian
Trade Zone. The Turkish gold
routes will be extraordinarily
important. The Ukraine energy pipeline routes will be extraordinarily
important. The East can afford
to lose Cyprus. The West is on the
verge of losing Greece,
which could be bought over
the weekend by Russia. But the East must have Turkey (for gold) and must have Ukraine (for energy)
for skeletal structure, as
the paradigm shift continues
to move and the trade zone
takes form.

It is interesting that the Bosporus Straits were crucial in ancient times,
where fees were paid. Nowadays Turkey commands the NATO
airbase and the gold trade
routes. The opinion of EuroRaj
was given in short form. He
said "Turkey is the bridge between
the East and the West from
a many standpoints that include
geography, trade, money, gold,
civilization, transport, religious,
and culture. There is a premium
in seigniorage that comes from
controlling this bridge. Turkey is changing hands
and owners from the West to
the East with each passing
month. The balance of geopolitical
power is rapidly changing." Bear
in mind that Turkey is
his neighbor nation, and he
knows it well.

## PETRO-YUAN SEED BED

◄$$$ PUTIN IS IN OPPOSITION WITH SAUDI RULERS ON THE GEOPOLITICAL STAGE,
DURING THE TRANSITION AWAY
FROM THE PETRO-DOLLAR. THE
HOUSE OF SAUD HAD BETTER BE
VERY CAREFUL. THE CONFLICT
IS SYRIA HAS
A RUSSIAN ELEMENT STRANGELY.
THE RISK OF SPILLING OVER INTO
THE SOCHI OLYMPICS IS HIGH, WHICH WOULD TAINT THE
SPIRIT OF THE GLOBAL GAMES.
THE ARC OF THE JIHAD SPREADS
FROM SAUDI
ARABIA TO SYRIA TO RUSSIA IN WAYS DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND. THE
SITE MOST AT RISK IS THE HOUSE
OF SAUD. NASTY VIOLENCE AT
THE OLYMPICS WILL RESULT IN
NASTY VIOLENCE FOR THE SAUDI
ROYALS, AND A VIOLENT END TO
THE PETRO-DOLLAR. $$$

The Voice has deep official security contacts. He does not believe that the
Saudis will lose control and
suffer a fallen regime. It
is not going to happen, he
has repeated. He offered a
unique report from the Moscow
Defense Brief. It was news
to the Jackass last week to
learn that Russian Islamics
were among those battling against
the Assad loyalists in Syria. Battle
hardened jihadists have returned
to the Caucasus region inside Russia,
where they are prone to stir
up violence, and spread their
radical ideals. See the essay
entitled "Evolution of
the Terror Threat Facing Russia" by
Georgi Engelhardt (CLICK HERE).
The following is taken as the
conclusion of the essay.

"Another
reason why Syria is important is that the war there has
not lived up to the expectations
of the foreign mujahedeen.
In 2011 and 2012 they flocked
to the country in the hope
that it would soon become
another Libya.
They expected a quick victory
over the Syrian regime, led
by the heretic Alawites.
But their hopes have been
dashed; the Assad regime
is still fighting, and the
conflict has turned into
a war of attrition. The natural
rotation process among the
foreign militants and veterans
has already begun. Some of
them are coming back to their
home countries, having become
all the more dangerous for
the connections and combat
experience they have gained
in Syria.

Estimates
of the numbers of Russian
jihadists who have fought
in Syria range
from 200 to 2,000. The government
has said on several occasions
that 400 Russian extremists
have been involved in fighting
in the Middle
East. Apart from natives
of the Russian North Caucasus
and the Volga-Urals region,
hundreds of militants from
Central Asian countries,
including Kazakhstan,
have also fought against
Assad. In view of the growing
Central Asian diaspora in Russia,
the return of these militants
from Syria will
further contribute to the
radicalization of the Russian
Muslim community.

The Russia security
forces have scored some major
achievements in their campaign
against terrorism. Nevertheless,
the terrorist threat in Russia remains high. Worse, there is a clear
potential for that threat
to grow even more deadly,
thanks to the restoration
of contacts between Russian
jihadists and Al Qaeda militants
fighting in Syria; the return
of these Russian jihadists
home from Syria; the Russian
government's determination
to allow an unrestricted
flow of migrants from Central
Asia; the emergence of terrorist
cells in new regions, including
the parts of Russia with
major oil & gas production
or transit infrastructure;
and the lack of an effective
strategy for de-radicalizing
the Russian Muslim community."

The Voice made a final addendum. He commented in response to persistent Jackass
commentary that drove home
the point that the Saudis could
not control what has begun
with Russian Jihadists whose
funding comes from Riyadh.
His rebuttal stated that there
might be some merit to the
claim of serious Saudi regime
fallout, but ONLY if the Saudis
are stupid enough to actually
support an attack during the
Olympic Games themselves. He
does not believe they are that
reckless. However, one cannot
control rogue elements within
the kingdom, nor can one control
returning Jihadists from Syria to
the Caucasus.
Furthermore, factor in the
consequences at a more macro
level. The Voice emphasized
that blowing up the House of
Saud interferes with China's
crude imports, not the best
of plans. He offers an
excellent mix of intelligence
and practicality in his viewpoint.

The Jackass position identifies a situation replete with risk and wild elements.
The following prompted the
above rebuttal. In the Middle
East and Persian
Gulf, huge forces are at work.
Putin will work like a crowbar
to split the US & Saudis.
We think in parallel on many
factors within a complex cauldron.
Saudi Prince Bandar started
something he cannot stop with
the Chechens. The Saudi participation
in Syria has
also started something that
cannot be stopped. Therefore,
Putin will act to protect the
Russian interests, which extend
to crude oil, pipelines, economy,
financial reserves, and the
Olympics with its stamp of
prestige. The Saudis cannot
control the Chechen rogue element,
no way whatsoever. The factor
not discussed is resentment
by the Chechens for the Americans
capturing former Yugoslavia zones for heroin.
Their action directed at Sochi
might be a more global statement
of resentment for superpowers
generally, and bitterness to
have lost most of the prized
heroin trade after the fall
of Tito in Yugoslavia.
The Chechens still are at war
over heroin, so told. Worse,
the Chechens probably cannot
control their own Chechen forces,
with 1000 years of anti-Russian
hostility. The situation is
very complex and volatile.
Look for Putin to force key
changes within the Saudi regime,
done in a way to prevent total
disruption and significant
deterioration. He will turn
the Petro-Yuan screws, and
set them into motion. The next
big moves by Putin will reveal
the master chess player, as
he works to put Saudi necks
under the Kremlin boot without
breaking them and killing their
regime. Putin will force the
Saudis to commit themselves,
to show they sit on the Russian & Chinese
side. Putin will force the
Saudis to take actions against
the Petro-Dollar. It will be
extremely interesting and loaded
with intrigue.

◄$$$ CHINA HAS BEGUN TO SUPPORT
THE ARAB STATES, MAKING PROMISES
TOWARD REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AND POLITICAL STATURE. THEY
MUST SHMOOZE IN ORDER TO CREATE
A FERTILE SEEDBED FOR THE PETRO-YUAN
DEFACTO STANDARD TO BE BORN.
LARGE PROJECTS AND OIL CLIENT
RELATIONS OVER THE LAST DECADE
HAVE HELPED. $$$

Out of Beijing, to start the year off, the Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi stated publicly
that China would
support Arab States in resolving
regional issues, achieving
economic development, safeguarding
their legitimate rights, and
playing a role in international
affairs. The summary support
was given to Al Jazeera, after
concluding his Middle
East visit. The foreign minister
implicitly showed motivation
for mutually beneficially progress
with China. They will ensure that
Arab states play a larger role
in regional and international
affairs, especially in the Middle
East hot spots. Over the yearend
holidays, Wang concluded his
Middle East visit to Palestine, Israel, Algeria, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia in his first visit to the region.
He cited three important goals
to his trip: to carry forward
the relations of friendship,
to deepen existing cooperation,
and to promote peace talks.
The trip hosts helped to achieve
the goals, as goodwill from
the Arab States was felt. China has
worked in steadfast strides
to deepen its cooperation with
the region for mutual benefit.
Last year, bilateral trade
reached nearly $300 billion,
with China moving to
the top trading partner of
many Arab states. The figure
includes all oil related trade.
One particular trade item was
high speed rail development,
offered by China to
any country toward a national
rail network program. The Chinese
will carefully tread in the
region, set up energy installations,
port facilities, and shopping
malls. They will not permit
themselves to be embroiled
in the typical intractable
conflicts known to the Arab
culture. See the Siasat Daily
article (CLICK HERE),
the journal being the most
popular South Indian news source
in the Urdu and English language.
The same language is spoken
in Pakistan, an Arabic derivative.

◄$$$ ARAB MONARCHIES EYE STRONGER TIES WITH CHINA.
THE PERSIAN
GULF NATIONS PREPARE FOR THE
PETRO-YUAN. THE GULF COOP COUNCIL
WILL SERVE AS THE PLATFORM
FOR WIDER CHINESE PROTECTORATE
ROLE. IT WILL EVENTUALLY USHER
IN THE PETRO-YUAN STANDARD,
BUT ONLY AFTER MORE WINE, MORE
LAMB, AND MORE HEAD NODDING.
$$$

Any strategic partnership between the Saudis and China means
dumping WashingtonDC, simply
put. The byline is crystal clear to all who observe without
rose colored glasses. The
six energy rich Arab monarchies
of the Persian Gulf are seeking
to strengthen ties with China,
whose main ministers have
met with the gulf emirates.
The Gulf Coop Council chief
Abdullatif al-Zayani held
talks in Saudi Arabia with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang
Yi. Upon exit, he said all
the right things. Wang was
cited, that Beijing
has interests to expand economic,
trade, and investment relations
with GCC countries. He referred
to the strategic cooperation
and relations with the GCC.
Clearly the Chinese delegate
said all the right things.

Wang arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour across the Middle East
northern rim, leaving him in
the Saudi capital as the final
stop. With the Saudi Foreign
Minister Prince Saudi al-Faisal,
they will attempt to make further
progress on a strategic partnership
between Beijing
and Riyadh. It did not elaborated. The Gulf dynamics are fast changing,
in a state of flux, opening
a new more risk filled chapter.
The Gulf monarchies are suspicious
and cautious of USGovt reluctance
to provide more dedicated military
support to Syrian rebels. They
are also guarded and distrustful
for USGovt newfound openness
toward their regional nemesis Iran. China and
the United States, in addition to Russia, are among the five permanent members of
the UN Security Council, which
along with Germany negotiated
a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in
at the Geneva
summit in November. The GCC
nations (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, United
Arab Emirates,
and Saudi Arabia) have given
cautious approval to the deal
struck in the so-called Iran
Talks. Two rooms of discussions
were hosted, for the thorny
nuclear program with its phony
weapons topic, and the non-proliferation
side for nations that discard
and depart from the USDollar
global reserve standard. See
the International News article
(CLICK HERE)
out of Karachi Pakistan.

◄$$$ IRAN COULD SOON BE SEEN AS
THE NEW BEST FRIEND IN THE
MIDDLE EAST FOR THE USGOVT.
PLENTY OF FRICTION CONTINUES
OVER IRANIAN LONGSTANDING SUPPORT
OF HEZBOLLAH AGAINST ISRAEL. BUT THE USGOVT AND IRAN GOVT
HAVE GROWING COMMON GROUND
IN HALTING THE RISE OF YOUNG
SUNNI RADICAL MILITIAS INVOLVED
IN SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ AND ELSEWHERE. $$$

The sectarian violence throughout the Middle East region
has escalated, with a definite
participation by the USGovt
in support of its confusing
multi-lateral Arab Spring movement.
The violence has grown particularly
in Syria and even in Iraq as the USMilitary has withdrawn. Also, the United
States has
begun to withdraw its troops
from Afghanistan. The active involvement by Iran in
the region is seen as increasingly
important, in a positive direction.
In a surprise to many including
the Jackass, the New York Times
described Iran as an island of stability
in recent editorials, and the
Saudis as possibly culpable
of 911 in some respects. Despite
their long confrontational
history, the US and Iran have
ironically found themselves
on the same side on regional
issues on an increasing basis,
like in fighting Sunni militants
in the Middle East. To be sure,
the two nations have been on
opposite ends of the Syria battle, as Iran sides
with HezBollah and the United
States sides
with the Al-Qaeda Jihadists
and Israel (all working together!!). If ever the
American people could see that
Al-Q has been a US agency tool for ten years,
it is now.

The Geneva II Conference is set to begin on January 22nd, and will include
more than 20 countries invited
by the United Nations as well
as representatives from Syria's opposition. The UN special envoy to Syria supports Iran's participation in the
Syrian peace process. The
USGovt position is for Iran participation on condition
that they accept that the premise
that the Assad regime be replaced
by a transitional government.Iran denounced
the US suggestion
of a sideline role. Over the
course of the three-year conflict
in Syria, which has produced deaths and refugees, Iran has provided military
assistance and manpower to
the Assad regime. Since its
1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has
used Syria as
a conduit for weapons, cash,
and support for the lethal
Shiite militant group Hezbollah
with base in Lebanon,
and later Hamas and Islamic
Jihad, all of which form a
frontline against Israel. The continuation
of Assad assures Iran of
the valued channel. To be sure,
Al-Qaeda has factions.

The US State Dept spokesman regards the Iran role
to be destructive in Syria.
The New York Times reports
that while the US and Iran "quietly
continue to pursue their often
conflicting interests, they
are being drawn together by
their mutual opposition to
an international movement of
young Sunni fighters, who with
their pickup trucks and Kalashnikovs
are raising the black flag
of Al Qaeda along sectarian
fault lines in Syria, Lebanon,
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen." In
a recent surprise gesture, Iran offered to join the United States in sending military aid to the Iraqi
Govt, which is engaged in a
fierce struggle to oust Sunni
militants from Iraq's Anbar province. With Iran as
an island of stability in a
region plagued by violent protests,
sectarian clashes, and suicide
bombers, the USGovt is exploring
unusual options that depart
from past history. The
Americans wish for Iran to end the aiding bombardment by the Syrian
regime of their own people,
and to encourage humanitarian
access. The USGovt position
is resolute, that for Iran to
participate as an influential
player on regional issues from Afghanistan to Syria, they must make concessions on the nuclear
program. The Jackass believes
firmly that nuclear card is
a myth and red herring to be
used at US whim. The contrary
and duplicitous US position is slowly being
unmasked. The USGovt must
make concessions as the Petro-Yuan
defacto standard is born, with
the main foundation for it
being Iran. The US leaders recognize the shift in geopolitical
power from Saudi to Iran,
a great irony. It is based
in natural gas, not crude oil.
Some believe the Americans
are gradually admitting that Iran stands for peace and stability in the region,
a concept difficult to swallow
whole. See the Christian Science
Monitor article (CLICK HERE).

As the United States embarks on a new path with the
Saudis perceived and painted
at the extremists who discard
the USDollar in favor of
Asian devices, watch relations
between the US and Iran warm
slowly. This is exactly what the Jackass mentioned in the TFMetals interview on Christmas
Eve with Mr Ferguson (CLICK HERE).
Look for growing evidence
that the USGovt will see Iran as
a stability rock in the Persian
Gulf after the Saudis piss
on the US Embassy, after
the Saudis discard the Petro-Dollar
in favor of a tighter deal
with Russian oil pricing
and Chinese Yuan oil payments.

The Voice and his research crew expect the Saudis to
quickly team up with Asian
forces, both on the military
side and the financial arena.
Probably so. But the Jackass
expects the transition to
be extremely rocky. Do not expect the Saudi Royals or its King to dance with nimble feet or with
a smile. They are too arrogant,
too lazy, and too spoiled.
They barely lift a hand to
work their own economy, as
servant immigrants populate
their landscape. The Saudi
Royals might not even lift
a hand to urinate, the lazy
entitled nature running so
deep. To be sure, they handle
the internal tribes in balance
well, but while seated, and
waited upon by servants with
ample wine under the tents,
and hors d'oeuvres of lamb.
As footnote, one must wonder
if the USMilitary will halt
the flood of Afghan heroin
to Iran,
done as an additional unique
olive branch. This has been
a secretive extreme point
of anger by Iran leaders
behind the stage, when in
more ready view is the horrendous
price inflation from sanctions.
Times are changing in the Persian
Gulf.